


The Boy With The Scar On His Face

by kbunny123



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/M, Zutara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2019-11-04 11:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 64,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17897210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbunny123/pseuds/kbunny123
Summary: Accepted into Hogwarts, Katara finally has the chance to learn the truth behind her family. However, the more she searches for answers, the more she realizes that there's something dark brewing in the world of magic and at the very center is the boy with the scar on his face. Harry Potter au





	1. The Beginnning

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so happy to share this new fic with you guys!!! I want to give a huge thanks to my beta readers Carliwrites and Black-rose-writing! I couldn't have done it without your feedback! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the fic!

_She ran as fast as she could, her booted feet slipping against the slick concrete of the street. Her lungs burned and her calves cramped, but she didn’t stop running. Sokka told her she couldn’t stop._

_Not until she found mom._

_She hadn’t wanted to leave him. She’d wanted to throw a fit, stomp her feet and flail her arms, until he let her stay like he always did. But there had been a chill in the air and a menacing nature to the hooded figures. There was something bad going on and she’d seen the look in her brother’s eye._

_Sokka was scared._

_The gate to the cottage slammed open as she scrambled up the porch. Her chubby fingers wrenching the door open, as she stumbled into the foyer._

_“Katara?”_

_She felt her mother scoop her up as she desperately clung to her arms. Her warning for Sokka, choked up amongst panicked tears. Her mother trying, in vain, to calm her._

_Only the clunky steps of metal boots startled the girl quiet. Two metal faces in her foyer, tall and menacing in their black cloaks._

_Katara curled further into her mother at the sight of the two figures, but they did not attack. They simply parted to allow another through._

_This man didn’t wear the metal mask, but he was just as scary. The hood of his cloak, casting shadows across his face. His copper eyes glinting evilly beneath cropped grey hair and long sideburns._

_Her mother clutched her further to her chest, her wand brandished dangerously. “Why are you here? I have done nothing to anger the ministry.”_

_“We are not the ministry,” the hooded man said as he turned to their fireplace, observing the collection of family photos, "But you already knew that. Your little… group is quite remarkable, isn’t it?”_

_Katara could feel her mother go rigid at his words. She was hiding something._

_“I have no idea what you’re talking about-”_

_“I think you do.” He turned to face her mother with a picture in his hand. A younger Kya with another girl, her arm wrapped lovingly around her shoulders. “She’s been dealt with, the minister’s wife.”_

_His eyes held a surety. The kind that reminded Katara of Sokka, whenever he said he would always protect her. Clear, direct and truthful._

_Kya’s lips pressed into a thin line, “Ursa, she’s-”_

_“Captured.”_

_Katara could feel how her mother relaxed, like cutting the taunt string of a guitar. She didn’t know who Ursa was, but she was special to her mother. She could tell._

_And maybe the man could, too. It was like he sensed the chip in her mother’s armor. He’d spotted his opening._

_The man looked at the duo coolly. “I am here to deal with the witch of this island. Those are my orders.”_

_Kya stared warily at the man, her arms tightening further on her daughter. “And if I am the witch of this island, will you hurt my children?”_

_“If you are the witch, then the children do not concern me. You have my word.”_

_They stared at each other for a long time before Kya nodded, sealing her fate with such a simple gesture. Katara wanted to tell her mother that she couldn’t go with this man. That she couldn’t trust him, but her mother shushed her gently. Her eyes had a sadness that wasn’t previously there, but they had strength, too._

_She wasn’t afraid._

_She held Katara for a moment longer, before releasing her daughter. When she was placed safely on the ground, all Katara could think, is that it hadn’t been long enough. It was too short a hug to be goodbye._

_Kya faced the men as she stood. She watched them icily, for a moment, before dropping her wand to the floor. Her back stoic and strong, as Katara watched her mother turn her wrist up in surrender._

_Only to be met with laughter._

_The hooded man surveyed her mother with amused eyes, “I think we have misunderstood each other, witch. The minister’s wife is a lady of pure-blood and has been dealt with as such. The same does not go for a mudblood like you.”_

_Without warning, green sparks slammed into her mother, and she hit the ground with a deafening thud. Katara could feel herself scream as her heart slammed painfully against her ribcage._

_There was a flurry of movement to her side. She grabbed her mother’s wand from the ground, swinging it madly at the men. She tried to make the brooms respond to her touch, like they often did. Or make the water jump from the vase to her defence, but nothing moved. Nothing happened._

_She couldn’t do anything._

“Katara?”

With snake like reflexes, she summoned a small puddle of water from the ground and whipped her attacker. She spun around, heart racing with adrenaline and the water at her ready, but her attacker was neither the man nor his metal, masked minions. Instead, there was a scrawny teenager sprawled in the snow with his hair pulled back into a small wolf tail and an equally pitiful look on his face.

“Sokka?”

Her brother stood from the ground, brushing snow indignantly from his parka. He gave an unattractive snort that made her wrinkle her nose.

“Who else would it be? If you remember correctly, I was the one who accompanied you to the market. Though GranGran’s not going to be happy when she learns her sea prunes were on the ground.”

Katara looked down to the fallen bag of sea prunes, spilled amongst the snow. She cursed Tui and La before bending down to salvage what she could. Grangran definitely wasn’t going to be happy if she came home with half a pound of sea prunes for the price of one.

Sokka tsked before bending down to help her, “What were you thinking about, anyway? You nearly broke my neck.”

The face of their mother’s killer flashed through her mind, his oily features illuminated in a flash of green. She pressed her lips in a hard line, scared that she would scream like she had as a child.

“It was _him_.”

Sokka’s mouth fell into a small ‘o’ of understanding. She didn’t have to say who he was.

She was Sokka’s mother, too.

He dropped the sea prunes he’d collected and pulled her into a tight bear hug. Her face, squished against his parka as he held her close.

She was glad that he couldn’t see her face as she rubbed her nose into the familiar fur of his collar. Katara hated being treated like a child, but no matter how old she got, Sokka always gave the best hugs.

“You’ve been thinking about that monster a lot...ever since you got your letter.”

Katara knew the exact letter he was referring to, it was her first and only.

Receiving letters was very uncommon in their village, with only the council received mail. Nobody else had a use for it, when everything and everyone was a hop-skip away.

But her mother was different, she always was.

Kya received letters all the time. Many with a variety of wax seals, in different languages and types of paper. Letters written in fancy inks that disappeared or smelled like blueberries.

Her mother never read them aloud, but every letter made her smile, and those were the memories Katara cherished. So she cherished her letter just like her memories, memorizing every letter on the small piece of cardstock.

Even now, she could still see the first sentence of the letter, as if it was printed on the back of her eyelids:

_Katara Amaruq, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witch and Wizardry._

The letter hadn’t come as a shock. It was never any debate if she would be a witch like her mother. Her magic was unpredictable, but very much there. What was unexpected, was the letter that arrived two years earlier, addressed to Sokka Amaruq.

Everyone was surprised by the letter, even Sokka. Katara still remembers the tizzy the council threw at the news. Only GranGran seemed unfazed by the letter.

Sokka was the son of a witch, afterall.

“Katara? Katara, are you listening to me? You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. If magic makes you think of those men, then you don’t have to go to Hogwarts.”

Katara came back to the present, her brother’s words registering in her mind. She pulled away from his shoulder to see his face, but there were no signs of humor. He looked ready to argue his point, as if he’d planned this talk beforehand.

Not that she would be surprised, if he had.

He’s been throwing her concerned looks ever since the nightmares of _him_ , kept her from sleeping through the night… and that started a month ago.

He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him, “Katara, I’m serious. if this is too much-”

A small cry rang through the market in the middle of Sokka’s speech, and Katara was on her feet a moment later.

She ignored Sokka’s indignite ‘Hey!’ as she followed the cry. Someone was in trouble and she was never the type to sit idly by.

She followed the small cries, until they led her to the back of a fish stall. There, three teenage boys circled around a crying girl.

Katara recognized her as Nola, the youngest daughter of the bootmaker. Her usually smiling face was pale with fear, as tears streamed down her brown face. The three teens were gleefully kicking snow at the young girl.

With the memory of her mother’s death so fresh in her mind, Katara couldn’t help but see herself in Nola. How defenseless the little girl was to help herself, just like she was on that day.

She wouldn't stand for it.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Katara stomped her foot and the surrounding snow froze to solid ice.

Inwardly, she thanked the spirits for allowing her magic to cooperate today.

Unable to continue kicking their snow, the three teens turned to the witch behind them. She instantly recognized them as the village's trouble makers, that Sokka nicknamed the three stooges.

The leader of the three trained his eyes of her. “Well lookie here! It’s the little witch girl. Ya know, the Chief banned the use of magic, so it’s best you take your little party tricks elsewhere. I’d hate if he found out.”

Katara grinded her teeth.

He was right.

Magic was banned within the tribe back when her mother was a child. The practice of wizardry played with the cursed spirits and angered Tui and La.

The elders saw it as evil. 

Her mother’s death was all the proof they needed.

Both of the Amaruq children were forbidden to use magic. While the the elders tended to look the other way at her accidental uses of magic, if they caught her purposefully doing it, they wouldn’t be so lenient.

Katara knew she needed to step away and let the Chief deal with these bullies. But every time she tried, the righteous anger roared in her gut.

She needed to show them what happens when you pick on those ‘lower’ than you.

“Nola, go get the chief. I’ll deal with these bullies.”

The little girl scrambled away from the teens, only looking back to make sure the they weren’t following her. When Katara couldn’t hear the crunch of her boots anymore, she set her eyes on the three teens before her.

Katara raised her hands to the sky. The air picked up around them dangerously and for the first time, the boys looked scared. Katara relished in their fear.

They didn’t look so bad now.

“You should’ve left her alone!” She wasn’t sure if she was still speaking about Nola, because the more she looked at them, the more they looked like _him_.

They looked like the monster who killed her mother.

But this time, she wasn’t going to stand by defenseless. This time, she had all the snow of this land waiting for her command.

“This time I’ll make you pay!”

She dropped her hands in a dramatic woosh, the wind roaring loudly as the boys screamed for the forgiveness of the spirits. For a heartbeat, Katara felt vindicated in their fear.

Then, the air cleared and nothing happened.

There was no avalanche of snow or sheets of ice, just three pitiful boys clinging to themselves desperately.

Her magic hadn’t worked and it seemed the teens realized the reality of the situation at the same time she did. Their growing smirks contrasting against her building dread.

“Well, well, well. I guess we won’t be ‘paying’ this time, but we can certainly make you pay.” The teens stood up from the ground, nearly a foot taller than her.

She hated the way her heart beat increased. The three teens took a step forward and she cursed herself for taking one back.

She was that defenseless girl all over again.

She closed her eyes and begged her magic to come back to her, to help her.

Suddenly, something whirled through the air, hitting the leader of the group square in the face. The object arched in the air again, before hitting the other two teens in a similar manner.

Each teen fell pitifully to the ground, as the object whirled back from where it came. Katara blinked in confusion at the fallen bodies, until-

“Boomerang!”

She turned to see Sokka standing behind her, looking pleased as he held the boomerang in his hand, “You’re better than any magic wand, but don’t tell wandy I said that.”

She stared at her brother as he held Boomerang proudly in his hands. Something about the sight made her throat tight and her eyes burn. She tried to stop the avalanche of emotions, but her body wouldn’t listen.

Just like her magic.

Her sniffles pulled her brother from his boomerang, his gaze landing on her with growing concern. “Katara?”

Her name was like the breaking of the dam. She suddenly understood why she was so upset. It was the memory of Sokka entering their cottage, all those years ago, with that same boomerang.

He’d been too late and too young, then. Coming moments after the figures left. Walking in to the sight of his sister, crying over their mother’s body.

But he wasn’t that defenseless boy he was six years ago. He’d gotten older, stronger. He was able to defend the ones he loved.

He wasn’t her.

That’s when she broke down.

Distantly she could feel Sokka pull her into his arms. She clung to him desperately, hugging his body close to hers.

Her brother's voice sounded panicked as he whispered in her ear. “Wait. Katara what’s wrong? Did they hurt you?”

She was sobbing now, could feel the tears as they streamed down her face and the way her breath ripped through her lungs.

When she saw the Chief approaching, with little Nola in tow, she cried even harder.

She wasn’t much different from her, afterall.

“Sokka,” she whispered the words into the familiar fur of his collar. Into her sanctuary.

“I don’t want to be that defenseless little girl, again. Not anymore.”


	2. Into the Wizarding World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 2!!! I want to give a huge thanks to my beta readers Carliwrites and Black-rose-writing... again, because they're awesome. 
> 
> Anyway here's chapter 2. Please R&R, I'm like Tinker Bell, I live for applause (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

It was just a speck on the horizon, but she could finally see the first signs of land. Katara had never been happier at the prospect of getting off the ocean.

Back home, she was known for her love of the sea, sneaking onto the fishing boats just to feel the rock of the ocean. But this big metal contraption was different from the small fishing vessels of her people.

It lacked the warmth of the wood carved floor and hand sewn sails. The slick metal of the floors felt impersonal and foreign to her booted feet.

It was a reminder that she really left her home.

Katara left everything she’d ever known to dive head first into the world of magic. The thought made her stomach twist uncomfortably, but it was a feeling she was becoming acquainted.

“Why aren’t you in your cabin?”

Katara groaned at the familiar voice. Another reason she was glad to see land, to escape the plethora of rules the ship maintained.

She couldn’t be out her cabin after 8pm, there were at least 1,000 rooms she wasn’t allowed to enter, and she had to be with GranGran at all times after ‘kid hours’.

This ship was a glorified water prison.

“I’ll escort you to your room. You must stay there until we dock.”

Katara sighed, but followed the sailor back to her room. This was his seventh time catching her in ten days, he should know the way by now.

When she reached the impossibly tiny room she shared with GranGran and Sokka, Katara made a show of slamming the door as hard as she could.

She regretted it the moment she heard her grandmother’s disappointed tsk.

“Now Katara, you can’t get mad at the crew for doing their jobs.”

“I know,” Katara fidgeted with one of the loose thread from her turtleneck. It’d gotten too warm for her parka after the fifth day of sailing. She missed the protective layer of her home. “I’m just ready to get off this ship.”

Sokka motion for her to come sit on the bed with him, a long sheet of paper clutched in his hands. “Don’t worry, Sis. According to my schedule. We’ll land in the good ol’ UK by 12 pm, which leaves us plenty of time to shop for your school supplies before we board the train tomorrow.”

Katara fought the urge to roll her eyes. She usually hated her brother’s schedules, but she was grateful today. His overbearing presence was a reminder that she wasn't going into this new world alone.

‘HELLO PASSENGERS, WE ARE COMING UP ON PORT. PLEASE PREPARE TO UNBOARD’

Katara and Sokka shared a smile, they’d made it to the UK.  
\---

The UK was a lot more… damp, than she expected.

The air felt humid, a permanent dew covering the rolling, green hills. The weather was warmer, too. Their turtlenecks stuffy without the chilled wind of the ship.

“We’re comin inta’ the main par of town.” Their cabbie looked into the rearview mirror to Katara and GranGran.

Katara nodded at the man, vaguely understanding his words. The people here talked as though they had golfballs in their mouth. Their words rounded and jumbled.

Nothing like the English she’d been taught at home.

At least she was better off than GranGran. She only knew how to ask for food and where the bathroom was.

At her nod, the cabbie went back to chatting with Sokka. Her brother understood the man without much difficulty, his two years at Hogwarts dramatically improving his English.

With the conversation lost to her, Katara decided to focus on the scenery instead.

Not that there was much to see. All the buildings were brick with multiple windows across the face. They looked like rows of red boxes, only the signage out front distinguished one from the other.

Every single one looked the same, except for the one they were coming up on.

This building looked exceptionally grimy, the bricks were caked in moss and the windows black with tar. Katara scrunched her nose at she read the sign for the “Jasmine Dragon”.

Even the people on the streets seemed to avoid the the small pub, not even casting it a second glance.

“Is that the Jasmine Dragon? That's our stop!”

Katara stared at her brother opened mouthed as the cabbie pulled over to the dilapidated building.

“Sokka-”

“-Katara,” Her grandmother’s thick accent interrupting her question. ”Could you help me with my bags?”

Her GranGran was looking at her expectantly. Katara nodded reluctantly as she opened the car door. She could question Sokka later.

Later, turned out to be _much_ later.

Sokka and the cabbie, or George as he insisted they call him, seemed reluctant to part. And GranGran was determined to thank the cabbie, but the old woman just kept repeating ‘excuse me’ as she shook George’s hand.

It took nearly 15 minutes to pay George, unload their bags and promise the cabbie they would call him whenever they needed a ride, before George finally left the small family.

Free of the cabbie’s presence, Katara could finally ambush her brother.

She put her hand in front of Sokka, stopping her brother as he tried to move GranGran’s bag into the dirty pub. She gave him her best scowl. “Where are you going?”

Sokka blinked at her in confusion. “To the Jasmine Dragon?”

“Why? I thought we were getting school supplies? This place looks like it can barely hold itself up, let alone anything on our list... and GranGran is not going in there.”

“Hey, this place is famous!” Sokka waved at the building just as one of the sign’s hinges broke off. He laughed nervously as Katara gave him a deadpan look. “Besides, GranGran loves it here!”

GranGran nodded along with Sokka. “They do have great tea."

Katara tried not to look too cross at GranGran for siding with Sokka. If they were so determined to go into that building she wouldn’t stop them.

“Fine. Lead the way, brother.”

Walking into the building, Katara noted that the inside of the pub was just as dingy as the outside. It didn’t look any different from the ruddy pub back home, that her and Sokka snuck in once as kids.

At least not everything here was different.

There was a bartender at the counter. He looked up at their entrance, smiling as soon as he saw Sokka. ”Hey, I was expecting you earlier! Cutting it kinda close to the school year for supplies, aren’t ya?”

“Hey, Lee!” Sokka walked up to the bartender, pulling Katara to his side, “You know there aren’t too many ships from my home to yours. This is my sister, Katara. She’s a new student at Hogwarts, needs supplies from Diagon Alley.”

“Nice to meet you.” Katara shook Lee’s hand as he offered it. She could see GranGran getting comfy at one of the tables. A waitress was already taking her order.

Katara turned back to Lee after survey the tiny pub. “So, where is Diagon Alley? Is it close?”

Lee gave her a weird look. “Oh no, Diagon Alley is in London.” Katara eyes bugged at his words. They wouldn’t make it to London before the train, tomorrow.

Her shock must’ve shown on her face, because Lee immediately began backtracking. “Don’t worry, that’s why we’re here. The Ministry of Magic realized it’s a little hard for all the students to get to London. So, they expanded the Jasmine Dragon chain. Just go through the back door. It’ll take you right there.”

Lee pointed out a red door clearly marked 'staff'.

Katara didn’t understand how walking through a door would get them from Scotland to England, but she thanked him anyway before following Sokka to said door.

“What about GranGran?” She glanced back to the old woman enjoying a few biscuits. At least she knew why she only knew how to order food.

Sokka led her through the door and down a dark hallway. “The cobblestone is a little hard on her feet, you remember the blisters she had last year. It’s just you and me, but don’t worry. This is my third time coming here. I'm sure I can handle everything. Oh, here we are.”

They’d come to a dead end. Nowhere to go, but a brick wall.

“Uh, Sokka-”

“Watch and learn little sister.” Sokka studied the wall for a moment, before randomly picking a brick and tapping it three times.

Nothing happened for a moment, then the brick began to rumble. Suddenly, it split open to reveal a small street of shops.

“Welcome to Diagon Alley!”  
\---

Diagon Alley looked just like a scene from a picture book. Tall lamp post, cobbled sidewalks, and little shops, painted all sorts of colors, decorated the narrow passageway.

It was so… cute.

“It’s like something out a fairytale!”

Sokka nodded as he pulled out his list. “Some might say it’s magical. Get it! Magical!”

Katara sighed as they walked down the alley. “Yes, Sokka. I get it. Where are we going anyway?”

“To Gringotts!” Katara gave him a blank look. “Right. I keep forgetting you’re new to the magic thing. Gringotts is the Wizarding bank.”

“A bank? Do we have any… money?”

Money was always a hard subject for the family.

GranGran was too old to do anything but mend and quilt, and because of the strict gender roles, Katara was much the same. Sokka’s hunting was the only thing that brought in much money, but that dried up when he left for boarding school.

The three boat tickets to get to the UK practically decimated what little savings they did have.

Sokka gave her a soft look. “Yeah we do. Mom left us an inheritance here, more than enough to afford both of our wizarding education... She was always thinking of us.”

Katara nodded, clearing her throat to fight against the tightness. She didn’t want to cry in the middle of the street. “Are we close to the bank?”

“We’re actually here right now!” Sokka waved his hands dramatically in the air. “Welcome to Gringotts!”

The first thing that came to mind as she stared at the building, was that Gringotts didn’t belong in the homely alley.

The bank was actually a Romanesque building with luminescent, marble stairs that led to grand, white columns. The entrance was decorated with large bronze doors and-

“Is that a goblin?” Katara squinted her eyes, not quite believing what she was seeing. Right next to the bronze doors, stood a creature with leathery, green skin, his face short and pinched.

He looked just like the creatures from her bedtime stories.

Sokka paused in his pursuit up the steps. “Yeah, this whole bank is run by goblins. Supposedly, they’re the best choice when it comes to security.”

Katara nodded absentmindedly before following her brother at a much slower pace. She couldn’t look away from the small goblin in his bellhop uniform. He couldn't have been taller than her shoulders.

When they made it to the bronze doors, Katara tried her best to avert her eyes. She greeted the goblin pleasantly, hoping he hadn’t seen her staring. Not that it matter, the goblin didn’t even spare her or Sokka a passing glance. He simply pulled opened the door upon their arrival.

Katara might have commented on his lack of manners, if she wasn’t so amazed by the sight in front of her.

Inside the golden doors was a large room, decorated in the same brilliant, white marble as the steps. Hundreds of goblins ran around in different states of dress; some dressed in simple tunics, while others wore three piece suits.

The architecture was beautiful and the goblins were interesting, but nothing caught her eye like the treasure.

Everywhere she looked there was valuables.

Scales of rubies being weighed against pounds of sapphires. Countertops full of silver, bronze, and gold coins next to handful after handful of diamonds. Katara had only ever seen one diamond in her life, and it was attached to a silver band that her mother always wore.

She’d been buried in it.

“Look at all this.” Katara couldn’t keep the wonder out of her voice. She’d never been around so much money. She couldn’t even image her and Sokka having even a fraction of this.

“Hey, earth to Katara.” Sokka snapped his fingers in front of her face. “You can’t oogle the money like that, they won’t take us seriously. Watch and learn.”

Sokka straightened his back and stuck his nose in the air snootedly. Her brother looked ridiculous, but he did kind of look like the other patrons in the bank.

A teller window opened with a rather bored looking goblin in a brown suit. Sokka swaggered his way to the vacant space, brandishing a silver key as he leaned against the counter. He gave the Goblin at the counter his coolest smile.

“Hello kind sir. I’m Sokka Amaruq and we need to make a withdrawal from the Amaruq trust.”

Sokka tossed the key to the goblin. A large, green hand caught the key, his beady eyes never straying from the boy in front of him. “Well, Mr. Amaruq. I am afraid you are too young to enter the vault without an adult.”

Sokka sputtered, his rich persona forgotten. “Too young! B-But I brought the key and everything!”

The goblin looked at the key, scrutinizing the silver piece of metal. “Indeed you have a valid key, but you need an adult as well. I can not let you enter without one.”

Sokka continued arguing with the Goblin. Katara sighed as she prepared to go back for Grangran. Maybe the walk to the bank wouldn’t be too bad on her feet.

A booming voice broke her from her thoughts. “Maybe I can accompany them.”

Katara turned to the voice, noticing a heavyset man behind them. The man was so huge, that she wondered how she hadn’t noticed him before.

He was easily a few feet taller than Sokka and his belly stuck out farther than Katara could throw. He was older too, maybe in his late fifties. His hairline was receding, but even with the first signs of balding, the man still maintained a small bun of silver hair with a matching beard.

As big as he was, he seemed kind. His eyes twinkling in the same way her GranGran’s did.

“I need to go down anyway. I have a letter from the headmaster concerning vault 713.” The old man held a letter in his large hands.

He passed it to the Goblin easily, even humming as he waited for it to be read. After a moment, the Goblin grunted. “Fine, I’ll let the children go if you escort them. I’ll have someone to collect you in a moment.”

The older man nodded his thanks, as the goblin stepped away. With the bank teller out of earshot, Katara could hear her brother sigh in relief. “Thanks Iroh. I owe you one.”

“Who?” Katara had barely formed the word to her question, before the giant man turned his easy smile on her.

“How rude of me! I haven’t introduced myself.” The man bowed to the to the younger sibling. “My name is Iroh. I am the groundskeeper at Hogwarts. I help maintain the school and detention sometimes. Mr. Amaruq and I are well acquainted, due to the last reason.”

The old man’s english was much clearer than the cab driver and easier to understand. She bowed back, her words careful and practiced. “Nice to meet you Iroh. My name is Katara. Sokka is my brother and this will be my first year at Hogwarts.”

When she came up from her bow, Iroh gave her a beaming smile. “The honor is mine, Miss Katara. You seem like a responsible girl, maybe some of that will rub off on your brother and I can see less of him this year.”

Iroh looked pointedly at Sokka, her brother grumbling about Teo being the real trouble maker. Katara rolled her eyes as her and Iroh shared a smile.

Shortly after their introductions, they were approached by a goblin in a simple brown tunic. He introduced himself as Griphook, ‘the poor soul burdened with the tasked of taking the annoying boy and his companions’ down to the vault. At least that’s what he said.

After his speech, Griphook led them to another set of large, bronze doors. Katara expected to see another room of marble and treasure, but the doors only revealed a dark cavern with a single mining cart. 

Griphook, along with Sokka and Iroh, stepped into the cart.

When Katara failed to enter the cart, the goblin sent her the most annoyed look she’d ever been on the receiving end of. She decide that it was best to enter the cart then to get that look again.

“This must be your first time at Gringotts.” Iroh’s voice startled her as she stepped into the cart. She nodded to the large man once she understood his question. Iroh turned to the Goblin in the front of the car. “Griphook. This is Miss Katara’s first time in the vault. Maybe we could go slower for her.”

Griphook turned around so that he could fully face the trio. “Cart’s only got one sped.”

And that was the last thing she heard before the cart rocketed into a dark tunnel. Katara grabbed onto the edge of the cart like her life depended on it. Her ears were roaring as wind blew by them and her stomach flipping uncomfortably as they continued to dive deeper underground.

Griphook seemed more amused by her, than where the cart was going. With all the twist and turns they were taking, she figured magic was controlling the cart.

When Katara felt like she was seconds from puking, the cart halted to a sudden stop. She glared at the Goblin’s back as he exited the cart. If he felt her staring, he ignored it as he unlocked a large vault door.

When he was done, he turned to the siblings. “Well, we’re ‘ere. Get out an get what cha need. If ya can’t move, ave yer brotha get the monay. I aven’t got ol day.”

Katara’s legs felt like jelly, but she wasn’t going to let a Goblin nearly two heads shorter than her talk to her like that.

She marched, if not a little wobbly, to the vault door. Griphook didn’t look impressed by her strength, especially when she had to grab the door to keep from falling. When she was sure she wouldn’t fall again, she pushed the door the remainder of the way open and gasped at what she saw.

In the vault, were piles and piles of gold, silver and bronze coins. Sokka came to her side and squeezed her hand in support. She turned to her brother in amazement. “This is all ours?”

Sokka nodded. “Yeah, every single piece. Can you believe it?”

She couldn’t. Never in a million years. She could’ve stared at it for an eternity and she wouldn’t believe it.

Unfortunately, Griphook wouldn’t give them five minutes, let alone an eternity. At his urging, the siblings worked fast to fill two bags of coins. When they were done they piled back into the cart.

This time when the cart took off, she was still overwhelmed by the wind in her ears, but she felt prepared for the jerky ride. Until a large roar echoed through the tunnel, followed by a searing heat. Luckily, their cart veered onto another track before the fire overtook them.

“What was that?” Katara scream over the wind. Her eyes trained on the bright orange tunnel they’d occupied merely moment before.

“Dragons, of course!” was the jolly answer she received from Iroh.

Of course there were dragons in a underground vault system ran by Goblins. She should have known.

Less trusting of her surrounding, Katara tried her best to observe the tunnel they were hurtling down. It was mostly dark with torches lining the wall every couple of meters, not that thrydid much good. They were going so fast, she could hardly see what was in front of her, until she suddenly could.

Obstructing their path was a thick wall, and they were hurtling right at it.

Katara and Sokka screamed, as Griphook pulled on the break. Sparks flew as the cart tried to squeal to a stop.

Katara hadn’t planned to die in a cart with a goblin and a friendly, old man. She screwed her eyes shut as she waited for the painful collision that was sure to come. At least she was with Sokka.

“Would ya two stop yer cryin’! We not gonna hit nothin’.” Griphook’s irritated voice stopped their screaming.

Katara opened one of her eyes. The cart was mere millimeters from the wall, but it hadn’t hit it. She stared at the large ‘713’ inscribed on the wall, before she remembered they were supposed to visit one more vault. Griphook gave a huff of irritation before rubbing the wall. “Open.”

The wall rumbled for a moment before melting away. Katara and Sokka gaped at the goblin as Iroh’s gentle voice broke the quiet. “You two have witnessed what makes a Gringott goblin so special. If anyone else tried that, they would be sucked through the wall. Forced to stay there until they were found.”

Sokka turned to Griphook. “What do you do when you find people in there?”

Griphook shrugged his boney shoulders. “Nothin’ really. They’re usually nothin but bone an’ dust when we find em’.” Sokka looked mortified as the goblin snickered at his own joke.

“I bet only important things get stored here.” Katara looked at Iroh in interest. “What are you getting out of this vault?”

Iroh gave her a serious look as he stepped from the cart. “Why Miss Katara, one does not show their hand if they wish to play.” With those parting words, he went into the vault.

Katara tried her best to understand what the old man was saying, but by the time he re-entered the cart, she was even more confused than when he left. Maybe the point of the riddle was to make her stop asking questions.

The ride back to the surface was just as nerve wracking as the way down.

Katara was so sure she was going to fall out of the cart as they climbed higher and higher through the tunnels. When they finally made it back to the surface, she was so relieved to be out the cart she considered kissing the ground.

But she knew Griphook wouldn’t appreciate the sentiment.

“Well children, I must be off. I have to tend to a few more things and you students need to shop for your materials before the shops close.” Iroh paused as he smiled at Katara. “Miss Katara, if you need any help at Hogwarts come to my hut for a cup of tea. Your brother should be very familiar with the way.”

Sokka started grumbling under his breath about ‘everyone being a comedian’, but she ignored him. Instead, Katara smiled back at Iroh, her response ready on her tongue.

“I would be delighted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for making it to chapter 2. 
> 
> I decided that Sokka and Katara are apart of the greenlandic Inuit population. I figured Greenland and Scotland were close enough geographically to make Hogwarts work (also I saw an BBC article about how the greenlandic Inuits may have Kayaked to Scotland during the 17th and early 18 century! How cool is that). We've finally met our first big character outside the family, Iroh! I always considered him a jolly, green giant (and now he is one). 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll upload chapter 3 next Friday, so feel free to comment below in the mean time (I promise I'll respond lol). Until next next!
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 3: Diagon Alley 
> 
> She practically ran the whole way there, her fingers thrumming in anticipation as she grabbed the door handle. She moved to push the door open, but Sokka stopped her before she could. 
> 
> “Before we go in there, I need to warn you about the Inventor.” Katara wanted to snap at her brother to let her hand go, but Sokka seemed oddly anxious. She stopped and stared at her brother. “The guy’s a little… kooky.”


	3. Diagon Alley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to my beta readers Carliwrites and Black-rose-writing.
> 
> Here's chapter 3. Please R&R, I'm like Tinker Bell, I live for applause (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

The rest of Diagon Alley was just as magical as Gringotts.

The Apothecary shop, where she got her cauldron, was full of all sorts of weird things. She saw huge jars of frog eyes, packages of supposed unicorn hairs, and large barrels of pink goo that lined the perimeter of the shop.

The large barrels smelled worse than rotting fish, not that anything in the shop smelled much better. Katara was sure she'd burnt a few of her nose hairs by the time they bought all of their ingredients.

For her robes, Katara was taken to a seamstress and made to stand on a stool as the woman draped black fabric over her body, just like GranGran when she made their new clothes. Somehow the seamstress sewed all three of Katara’s robes in less than 10 minutes.

Katara was absolutely amazed. Sokka didn’t find it very impressive, but her brother couldn’t thread a needle to save his life.

Her parchment and quills came from a small shop in the center of the alley. The little shop had thousands of parchment and quills to choose from. So much so, that Katara felt overwhelmed with the possibilities. She observed various combinations as the quills floated about, showing their skills on various sheets of paper and different inks.

In the end, Katara chose a few binders of medium quality paper, 4 pots of black ink and a single quill that reminded her of the one her mother used. She hadn’t wanted to buy it, the quill being on the pricier side, but Sokka insisted she got it.

It was her favorite purchase so far.

Katara got her books from a place called the Wan Shi Tong Bookstore. It had every kind of book that anyone would want: cooking, hexing, gardening and seance 101. She could have spent hours pursuing the books, but Sokka didn’t want to deviate too far from the schedule. Their time at Gringotts moved everything back by 20 minutes and he was anxious to get back on schedule.

She convinced him to stay for an additional 20 minutes, despite the schedule.

“All right,” Sokka unferralled his long sheet of paper. “Looks like are next stop is the pet store.”

Katara wrinkled her nose. She didn’t have much interest in a pet. As a first year student, she was only allowed to bring a frog, cat or owl to the school. Those weren’t her top three choices. She would wait until she could bring a real pet, like one of the hunting dogs back home.

“Why do we need a pet?”

“Because every student at Hogwarts has a pet.” They entered the pet shop. Sokka looking at his list, ticking off the requirements for his future companion. “We need a pet that is functional, super cool and cuddly. I’ve narrowed it down to a few choices-”

Katara half listened to her brother as they moved through the different sections of the shop. The animals here were unlike anything she’d ever seen. Some were extremely rare, only seen in fancy textbooks and magazines. Others were a weird hodgepodge of existing animals.

They made their way from the small rodent sections to the reptiles. Katara wrinkled her nose as Sokka took great interest in a particularly big snake, the animal sleeping peacefully in it’s lamp lit tank.

Sokka tapped the glass. “Hey there snakey!”

The snake didn’t so much as move at her brother's continued tapping.

After a few minutes, Sokka grew bored with the sleeping reptile, backing away from the cage and marking through something on his list. “That’s a no for the snake. Let’s check out the birds!”

She nodded along with her brother with every intention to follow him, but something made her pause. Katara turned back to the sleeping snake, but found it awake. His big, yellow eyes trained on her, but she wasn’t scared of the snake. 

She gave the snake a small smile. “I’m sorry about my brother, he’s kind of annoying sometimes.”

Katara felt like she could see the snake smile back, and move its neck in a way that almost resembled a shrug. She could practically see the snake say, ‘It’s all right, I get that often’.

Still, Katara felt bad for the snake. A life trapped inside of a glass box, with the artificial light the closest thing to the actual sun. She touched the glass to her reptile friend. “I wish you didn’t have to live in this glass box, that must be so sad.”

“Katara! Come look, I think I’ve found the perfect companion!”

Sokka's loud voice pulled her from her conversation. She looked back at the snake sadly. “I have to go now.”

She took a step back, removing her hand… and the glass. Just like Griphook and the vault wall, the glass melted away with her touch. Katara stared in shock as only the metal structure was left, not one shard of glass in sight.

Faster than she could react, the snake jumped from his cage. Not to attack her, but to land on the shop’s floor. The snake turned around to look at her, nodding his head in her direction.

“Thanksss Miss.”

With those parting words, the snake slithered towards the exit.

Katara could hear the exact moment the shoppers noticed the snake’s mad dash to freedom. She peered nervously around the aisle as patrons screamed, the snake expertly weaving through their feet.

Many tried to cast spells to stun the snake, but it was too fast for their wands. Others just screamed as they moved away, the loudest of shouts from a scholarly looking man.

He was thin and frail looking. His tan skin dull from a lack of sun and he moved with the grace of a baby giraffe.

Katara noted that he held a wand in his hand, but it was tucked nervously against his chest than brandished at the snake, like the other witches and wizards.

The store owner came rushing over, net in hand, but it was too late. The snake made his escape. Slithering away, just as one of the patrons opened the door.

The owner swore under his breath. “How could this have happened!”

Katara felt her neck get hot in shame, though she couldn’t decide if the shame was from letting the snake go, or the happiness she felt knowing her friend was free to feel the real sun on his back.

With the snake gone, the scholarly man collected some of his wits back, but his nervous air remained. “Someone set him free. I heard someone speaking Parseltongue!”

Katara didn’t know what Parseltongue was, but the way the patrons stretched their faces in fear, she knew it couldn’t be good. She moved back into the reptile aisle, away from the scholar’s calculating eyes.

She would have to sneak away from this section if she didn’t want to be found out. She turned to make a run for it and collided into someone.

“Katara!” Sokka grabbed her shoulder to keep her from falling. She blinked a little dazed at her brother. “Are you all right? Did the snake get you?”

She shook her head, afraid that she might give herself away. Instead, she looked at the cage Sokka held in his hand. “What’s that?”

“This is Hawky!” Sokka shoved the birdcage in her face, to show the big, brown hawk. She pushed the cage a few inches back as her brother continued to happily talk. “We can use him to send letters to GranGran, so he’s functional. He’s cool because he’s a hawk, and Hawky loves me! We bonded almost instantly.”

The hawk didn’t look like he agreed with the last sentiment at all, but Katara decided not to comment on it. She just wanted to leave the pet shop and the eyes of the scholarly wizard.

Katara and Sokka moved to the register to pay for the hawk. Immediately, she noticed the scholar was standing right in front of them. Katara prayed the man went to the counter and paid for his stuff, without giving her a second glance.

It almost seemed like her plan might work when the scholar was called to the next register, but Sokka had to go and tap the man’s shoulder.

“Hey Professor Zei!” Sokka scared the man so bad, he’d nearly jumped from his robes. Zei turned around to give Sokka a nervous smile. Her brother pulled her to his side, pointing to the man. “This is our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And this is my sister, Katara. She’s starting at Hogwarts this year!”

Katara waved awkwardly to the teacher, her hand shaking nervously. What if he could tell that she was the one that set the snake free? What if it only took the smallest exhale for him to realize that she had spoken parseltongue?

She was on edge, but Zei wasn’t doing much better.

He looked like he’d rather cut off his own arm than socialize.

“Hello Mister Sokka and M-Miss Katara. I hope w-we have a good year.” Zei looked a little green at the ends of his statement, his words stuttering together.

He must really hate socializing.

Sokka didn’t seem notice the teacher’s unease. “I expected to run into you at the Wan Shi Tong Bookstore, but you weren’t there. What are you buying in here?” Her brother tried to peek at the package that Zei held tightly in his arms.

“Nothing!”

Both siblings jumped at his sudden exclamation. When the other patrons turned to observe the trio, the Professor cleared his throat awkwardly. This time speaking in a much softer voice. “Sorry. I need to pay so, um, it was good to meet you.”

He moved to the open cash register, fumbling his way through coins as he tried to pay the clerk.

Sokka elbowed her to get her attention. “Don’t worry about Professor Z, he’s always like that. Nervous and jittery. I don’t even know how he got the job as the DADA teacher.”

They paid for Hawky, the poor bird squawking as he begged the store owner not to let him go.

When they made it outside, Sokka took out his long sheet of paper. ”Looks like the only thing left to get is your wand.”

Katara perked up at that. That’s what she was most excited for. A wand meant she was a real witch. She looked at Sokka with excitement in her eyes, the snake situation forgotten. “Where do I get my wand?”

“From the Inventor’s Shop.” Sokka pointed to a dinky little shop at the end of the alley. A faded green sign that read ‘The Inventor’s Shop’ hung from the building. “He makes the best wands in the UK.”

Katara could feel herself bounce with energy as they made their way to the purple building. She practically ran the whole way there, her fingers thrumming in anticipation as she grabbed the door handle. She moved to push the door open, but Sokka stopped her before she could.

“Before we go in there, I need to warn you about the inventor.” Katara wanted to snap at her brother to let her hand go, but Sokka seemed oddly anxious as he spoke. She stopped and stared at her brother. “The guy’s a little… kooky.”

“Cookie?” It was times like this, Katara wished her english was better. She didn’t know if her brother was being serious or circling back to his favorite topic, food.

Sokka shook his head. “Not cookie, kooky as in odd. He’s always prattling off weird things that don’t make any sense. Just… If he says something to you, take it with a grain of salt.”

Katara nodded to her brother. At her understanding, he let go of her shoulder and they entered the shop.

The moment they stepped inside, a bell chimed, though there was no bell above the door. The shop was dingy and dust covered, but Katara hardly noticed. She was too amazed by the shelves that lined the wall.

Floor to ceiling, row after row, there were tiny, black boxes. There must have been thousands of them and each one was filled with a wand.

“Good afternoon!”

Both Sokka and Katara jumped at the sudden voice. They whirled around to an old man with wild, black hair and a weird, goggles-like contraption that made his eyes appear too large for his face. He smiled at them crookedly from behind a dingy, glass counter. "What can I do for you?"

“Um, hello. My name is Katara and I need a wand.” She watched the man wearily as he moved closer into her space. His big eyes black and unblinking.

“My, you look just like Kya with those big blue eyes. It seems only yesterday, that little greenlandic girl came to my shop. 10 and ½ inches long, silver wolf hair in willow. Excellent for charms.”

Katara blinked wildly at the Inventor. “K-Kya, my mother? You knew her?”

“I remember everyone who comes into my shop.” His eyes swiveled to Sokka, making the poor boy jump. “I sold you a similar wand. 13 and ¾ inches long with a hair from a silver wolf, but in oak. Much more sturdy, better for transfigurations. Are you any good?”

Sokka chuckled awkwardly. “Not really-"

The Inventor waved him off before he could finish. “Don’t worry, you will be. Which is your wand hand?”

Sokka blinked confusedly at the inventor. “My right?”

“Not you! The one looking for a wand.”

“Oh,” Katara was having a hard time keeping up with the willy old man. “I’m right handed, too.”

“Well, give it here then!” She lifted her arm in the direction of the Inventor, but the man simply turned around and began surveying the many boxes behind him. Instead, the measuring tape unfurled itself and began taking her measurements. “Have you ever used a wand?”

The tape measured tapped her feet apart and Katara widened her stance so it could measure the length of her leg. “I tried to use my mom’s wand once. It didn’t work.”

She didn’t want to relive the memory of her mother’s death, but the Inventor didn’t seem to either. Interrupting her before she could fall too deep down memory lane. “That’s because every wand is different. You need to get one specifically for you, or rather, you need to be chosen by the right wand. Your mother’s wand didn’t choose you... That’s enough of that!”

He waved the measuring tape away as he laid several boxes on the counter. Katara watched in amazement as the tape simply crumbled to the ground. The Inventor opened up the first box.

“In my shop, all the wands contain a core of a powerful creature: unicorn hairs, dragon strings, phoenix feathers and many more. No two wands that come out of The Inventor’s Shop are the same and none are better. Try this wand Miss Katara. Whisker of an Tiger Seal in beechwood.”

Katara grabbed the wand. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with it, but whatever she did was wrong. The Inventor quickly pulled the wand from her hand and replaced it with another.

“A hair of an Arctic Camel in Willow. Very wispy.”

Again, she held the wand lamely in her hand. This time she waved the wand around for a moment, but it only made the Inventor tsk angrily before snatching the wand from her grasp, again.

Katara huffed at the rude man. He had one more time to snatch anything out her hand, and she was going to let him have it. Wand or not.

“You are a very difficult girl, unusual too. But I do love a challenge.” The Inventor turned back around to his wall of boxes, rummaging around until he found what he was looking for. “Ah, ha! Something unusual for an unusual girl. 9 inches exactly with a dragon heartstring in aspen. Go on, try it!”

The wand that the inventor presented to her was gnarly, as it twisted and curled upon itself, the white wood contrasting with her brown skin. It reminded her of something the waves brought to shore.

Katara held the wand in her hand, the wood instantly warming to her. Then, without warning, a blue flame shot from the wand. Its blaze of fire leaving ice crystals along the wall, instead of the black, scorch marks she expected.

Shocked, Katara tried to apologize to the Inventor, but the old man was too busy clapping at her impromptu demonstration. “Marvelous! Marvelous! The oddest and the oldest wand in my collection finally has a home.”

The strange behavior of the Inventor did not overshadow the man’s strange words. Katara looked at the old man wearily, “What’s so weird about my wand?”

The inventor motioned for her to come closer. When she was close like he wanted, he left to clean the wands he’d removed. “Yes that wand is very odd. You see, the dragonstring in your wand is from a dragon empress of ancient times. She was madly in love with a dragon emperor, but they were both cursed by an evil water spirit. To be together, despite the curse, each dragon gave one heart string. In hope that their paths would cross again to be reunited. A sweet story.”

She stared at the Inventor, waiting for him to add something more to the story, but the man seemed content with stacking wands. Katara huffed. “Well, where is the other wand? Maybe I can meet the other person.”

The Inventor stopped his task of stacking to finally look at her. “I sold it about 30 years ago to a sweet little girl. 10 and ¾ inches in cypress.”

30 years ago? She couldn’t check every 40 year old in the UK. What was she supposed to do? Put out a flier for a cypress wand with the dragon string of an Emperor?

She stared sadly at her wand. It seems the two dragons are still cursed to be apart.

“But, there was also a wand made from the Fang of the water spirit.” She was pulled from her musing by the Inventor’s words. He looked so sad as he stared at her. “I wish I hadn’t sold it. If I knew what I’d known now, I would’ve refused.”

“Who has the water spirit wand?” She could feel her stomach twisting even as she asked. She tucked her wand closer to her chest as the inventor leaned in closer, his eyes far away, as if he was remembering the day he sold that wand, many years before. He opened his mouth and-

The familiar doorbell chimed through the shop and suddenly the moment was broken, the Inventor back in the present.

In the door stood a man and a girl, around Katara’s age. The man was tall with long, black hair. The luscious strands pulled away in a ponytail, displaying his high cheek and strong jaw. His skin was pale too, but not in a sickly way. It was pale like the moon.

He should’ve been attractive, but his face seemed too sharp and his eyes an unsettling brown.

The girl looked similar to the man, no doubt the man was her father. She had the same black hair, pale skin and sharp features. She also made Katara uncomfortable.

The girl walked to the counter, so they stood right next to each other. They were the same height. “I need a wand, Inventor.”

The Inventor moved back from Katara, surveying the new girl. “And who might you be.”

“Azula Kasai.” The girl pursed her lips in annoyance. “You should know the Minister’s daughter.”

The Inventor hummed lazily at the girl. “I should know nothing except for wand making, for that is my trade. Regardless of whose daughter you are, you will have to wait. I am with a customer right now.”

The Inventor waved in her direction to indicate that Katara was the customer stopping the girl from getting her wand at that very moment. The Minister’s daughter trained her golden eyes on her.

Azula was stripping her down to her bare bones with nothing but her gaze. “Who are you?”

Katara didn’t like the way the girl spoke to her, like she was supposed to be scared. She wasn’t afraid of anyone, especially not an entitled, little ‘princess’. She raised herself to her full height, pronouncing her name proud and clear.

“I am Katara Amaruq.”

Azula scrunched up her nose like the name disgusted her. “That doesn’t sound very English.”

“Neither does Kasai.”

Katara was sure the Minister’s daughter would have sputtered like Sokka, if she wasn’t so above it. Instead, Azula glared, her eyes nothing more than golden slits. “The Kasai family is the oldest bloodline in Japan, the founders of the Mahoutokoro School of Wizardry and we are direct descendants of the Slytherin bloodline. My family has the purest blood in two different wizarding continents, but I shouldn’t expect such basic knowledge from a muggle-born.”

There was that word again, ‘pure-blood’. That’s what _he_ said on the day of her mother’s death.

Ursa lived because she had it and her mother died because she lacked it. Now this random girl looked down on her for the very same reason, just because of the blood that ran through her veins.

Katara could feel her blood boil.

“That’s enough, Azula.” The Minister shushed his daughter with the simple command. He raked his eyes over Katara, disinterested. “Let the Inventor finish his work. He will see us next.”

Katara could feel a chill go down her spine as the Minister glanced at her. He hadn’t said anything rude, but the way he looked at her. Katara knew he didn’t see her as anything more than dirt on his shoe.

The Inventor nodded at the Minister’s words, motioning Katara to a large hunk of metal on the other end of the counter. Only upon closer inspection did she realize the wacky contraption was a cash register.

Azula’s eyes glared holes into her back, as Katara watched the Inventor hit a series of buttons. She didn’t want to talk to the Inventor while the Kasai family stood about, but she couldn't stop thinking of their conversion before the family interrupted.

Katara leaned forward, lowering her voice so that the Minister and his daughter could not hear her. “Will you tell me who has the water spirit wand?”

The old Inventor shook his head, for the first time since she’d been in the shop, not meeting her eyes. “No, I will not tell you. The wielder does not matter.”

His eyes shifted to the Minister, for just a moment, before he pulled a lever on the register. The contraption shook for a moment before it burped out a piece of paper with the price on it. Katara sighed as she gave the Inventor the allotted money, disappointed that the old man was suddenly unwilling to divulge the possessor of the water spirit wand.

He repackaged her wand in a little black box, before dropping it into a brown, paper bag.

Katara grabbed the bag, prepared to leave the little store, but the Inventor did not let go. Instead, he yanked her forward, so that she fell against the counter. He grabbed her shoulders, as if to steady her, yet she could feel him holding her close, the whiskers of his beard tickling her face.

He whispered in her ear, fast and breathless. “I can not say who wields that wand, but you must know that your destinies are intertwined now. The one who possesses that wand has done great things. Evil things, but great nonetheless. If the prophecy should be repeated, then I should expect great things from you too, Miss Katara.”

When the Inventor leaned back, releasing her from his hold, Katara stared at the man in a mixture of fear and confusion.

Even as he retreated to help the Minister’s daughter pick her wand, his words kept twisting like jumbled soup in Katara’s brain. The words prophecies and destinies tying knots in her stomach, until she felt sick.

Sensing her distress, Sokka quickly pulled her from the dusty wand shop. He gripped her hand tightly as they made their way to a quieter street. Once there, he pulled her into a hug, her hands shaking as she clung to the fabric of his back.

“Hey, calm down. I told you that old man was kooky. Don’t mind what he said one bit.”

Katara nodded against the wool of his sweater. She already missing the soft fur of his parka.

Sokka sighed. “Let’s get back to GranGran at the pub. We have a train to catch tomorrow.”

As the two siblings made their way down Diagon Alley, Katara couldn’t help but feel someone was watching her.

She clutched her wand closer to her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed how “Love Amongst Dragons” was woven into the story. Also, can you guess Azula's role in the story? I think it's pretty obvious but humor me. 
> 
> Speaking of characters, I'm hoping Zuko makes his appearance in the next chapter. Chapter 4 is getting pretty long, so it may need to be cut. If so, sorry in advance. Believe me, these first few chapters without my son have been the hardest. 
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 4: All Aboard the Wizarding Express
> 
> “That’s a cat?” Katara looked at the stripe-tailed animal as it perched itself along his shoulders. His head turned a shade darker, but he nodded anyway. 
> 
> This boy was a terrible liar.


	4. All Aboard the Wizarding Express

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 4! its a little later than I want, but you guys are getting an extra long chapter to make up for the super late Friday night upload. Again, I want to give a huge thanks to my beta readers Carliwrites and Black-rose-writing (Team work make the dream work)
> 
> Anyway here's chapter 4. Please R&R, I'm like Tinker Bell, I live for applause (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“Ther’ it is, tha Glasgow Queen Station.”

Katara looked out of the window at George’s, now familiar voice. The station was a series of  large, metal arches covered in reflective glass.

It should’ve been breathtaking, but the building only worsened Katara's mood.  

Today would be her first day at Hogwarts.

She was so excited as she laid in her bed the night before, barely able to sleep. Only to wake, in the early hours of the morning, with a terrible realization.  

Leaving for Hogwarts also meant leaving GranGran.

It seems so obvious now, but the thought of the trio splitting into two never crossed her mind. She was so ready to start her training that it was nothing more than a distant thought as she boarded the ship away from her home, both her brother and grandmother in tow.

Now, Katara felt like she was four all over again, when she realized her mother couldn’t go to school with her.

Sokka opened the boot of the car to unpack their trunks, but Katara remained seated. She would sit forever if it delayed their goodbye for just a moment longer.

Her grandmother’s wrinkled hand connected with hers, pulling her from her thoughts. “We will have to say goodbye eventually, little wolf.”

The native tongue of her grandmother made her regret leaving the island. Her tribe didn’t have magic or fancy boarding schools, but it had home. And home wasn’t just the island, it was the arms of her grandmother.

She clutched GranGran’s hand a little tighter. “I know, just a bit longer.”

They sat quietly for another moment just holding each other’s hand until Sokka tapped on the window, signalling that their trunks were unpacked. With a heavy sigh, she finally left the confines of the taxi, her GranGran close behind.

When GranGran was safely out the cab, she held out her arms for her two grandchildren, the siblings immediately falling into her warm embrace.

“I’ll miss my pups, but I am so proud of you two. And I know your mother is, too.” They let the words hang between them in silence, no one daring to speak in fear of ending the moment too soon.

Sokka was the first to pull away from the protective barrier of their grandmother’s arms. He would miss GranGran dearly, but this was his third year at the train station. The sadness of saying goodbye was something more familiar to him.

And according to Sokka, men didn’t cry about things as trivial as space. He also assured them that he wasn’t crying, but doing an advanced form of magic called tearbending.

Katara, on the other hand, had no reservations over crying. She let the tears roll freely as she clung to her grandmother. Wishing the two would fuse together so she never had to leave, but that was a child’s wish.

GranGran could never go to Hogwarts, and it was too selfish to strand her in the UK, away from everything she knew.

That was the sobering thought that made Katara finally pull away.

GranGran smiled at her, kissing her forehead before treating Sokka to another hug and kiss. She looked lovingly at her two grandchildren. “Promise me that the two of you will look after each other, and write me every week with that new hawk of yours.”

Hawky squaked indignantly from his cage. They shared a quick laugh, even though Katara was still crying a little.

They pinky swore to keep in touch.

With one final hug, GranGran reentered the cab with George. Katara watched the cab as it departed, refusing to move until she could no longer see the yellow car.

After a few minutes, Sokka nudged her arm. “Ready to board the train?”  

She sniffled into her turtleneck, trying to wipe away the mixture of tears and snot as discreetly as possible.  

When she was sure her face was clean, she turned to her brother. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

\---

 

The glass continued throughout Queen Station, letting in what little sunlight was outside. It would’ve been quite tranquil, if there weren’t so many people bustling about.

Katara pressed herself into her brother’s back, scared that the crowd would sweep her away. She yelled in Sokka's ear. “Which way is the terminal?”

“It’s usually this way!” He pointed his finger to a group of people flowing west. “Our platform is 9 and 3/4, but don’t worry about looking for it. Just look for a bunch a kids with trunks. If you see them, we’re going the right way.”

She nodded along with her brother as they made their way down the terminal. They walked a few minutes in silence, Katara focused on keeping up with Sokka and maintaining a firm grip on her trunk as they maneuvered through the crowd.

She was doing good, concentrating on her two task, when the people in front of them began screaming and frantically pushing past the siblings.

The duo shared a look of confusion, but their ignorance didn't last long. Just as the crowd parted, something white and black whizzed through the air and smashed into Sokka’s chest.

Both her brother and the thing tumbled to the to the ground, Sokka holding Hawky’s cage in the air to save the bird from the worst of the fall.

Katara ran to where her brother lay sprawled on the floor. She bent over his body to see what sent the third year tumbling.

The ‘thing’ turned out to be some kind of creature, probably in the lemur family. It had big, green eyes, large ears and bat like-wings. The thing was sitting on her brother's chest, staring at him curiously as Sokka glared back.

“Get off of me whatever you are!” It ignored her brother’s words as it sniffed at his jacket, before digging its head through his pocket. “What are you doing- Wait! My seal jerky! Get your grubby animal hands off my seal jerky! Katara, get it off of me!”

Snapping out of her stupor, Katara pulled the animal off Sokka’s chest, holding it an arm's distance away. It stared at her with big eyes as it munched on the last of her brother’s seal jerky.

Sokka wasn’t going to be happy about that.

“Momo!”

Katara turned as a boy barrelled towards them, his bald head gleaming in the light of the terminal. The yellows and oranges of his dress made him stand out against the dreary backdrop of the train station, like a flame amongst the dark.

The animal chittered loudly as it wiggled out of Katara’s hand into the arms of the young boy. She watched the boy and the animal for a moment, before making her presence known. “What type of animal is that? I’ve never seen one.”

Her question startle the boy, as if he failed to notice her. He looked at her for a long moment, before suddenly growing interested in his shoes. His entire head blushing a light pink under her attention.

Katara stared at the boy a little weirdly. Nobody's ever reacted to her like that.

The boy scratched his head nervously.“This is my pet...cat, Momo.”

“That’s a cat?” Katara looked at the stripe-tailed animal as it perched itself along his shoulders.

She’s seen plenty of cats in her life and not one looked like the animal she was looking at now. His head turned a shade darker, but he nodded anyway.

This boy was a terrible liar.

Sokka pulled himself from the ground, dusting off the back of his pants. “Well your ‘whatever-that-is’ just stole my seal jerky!”

“Ew, meat Momo?” The boy wrinkled his nose at his animal companion. The ‘cat’ chittered in his face apologetically. “Sorry about that. I’ll repay you for the jerky.”

The boy dug into his robes, pulling out six bronze coins and a paperclip. He laughed nervously before digging through his other pocket, coming back with a single silver piece.

The bag of money in her coat suddenly felt too heavy as she watched him look for an ‘acceptable’ amount to repay them. Katara stuck out her hand to stop the boy as he tried to empty his shoe.

“That’s okay. We don’t need the money, my brother has plenty of seal jerky in his trunk.”

“Oh, okay.” The air turned weird between them, and Katara wondered if it would’ve been less awkward to just let him keep scavenging for the money. Thankfully, the awkwardness only lasted a few seconds, before the boy found something else that caught his interest.

He pointed to their trunks with the tip of his shoe. “Are you guys Hogwarts students, too?”  

Katara looked up at the boy, noticing the trunk he carried, though considerably smaller than theirs. She nodded. “Yeah, we are. We’re on our way to the terminal.”

“Cool, me too! I’m Aang by the way.” He stuck his hand out to her and Sokka. Her brother grumbled under his breath, refusing to return the gesture. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother’s childish behavior, shaking the proffered hand herself.

“I’m Katara Amaruq, and this ball of grump is my brother, Sokka.”

“You and your brother are wizards? That’s so cool! I have brothers, too. Though they’re not my blood brothers. We were just raised together in the monastery.”

Katara perked up at the conversation. “Do your brother’s go to Hogwarts, too?”

“Um, no.” Again, everything went awkward as Aang responded. “I was the only kid in the monastery to receive a letter.”

Sadness bloomed in his eyes and Katara cursed herself for her clumsiness. She didn’t want to make him sad, he seemed like the type of person who should always be smiling.

She rested her hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad. I know how much it sucks to leave your family behind, but look. You’ve already made two friends. Maybe we can keep each other from becoming too lonely.”

Sokka didn’t look like he agreed one bit, still mad about his lost seal jerky. He almost looked like he was doing an impression of Hawky. Still, her words brought that 10,000 watt smile back to Aang’s face, so she counted it a win.

The three of them continued to the terminal. Katara trying her best to keep up with Aang’s animated chatter. He talked so fast that she couldn’t always comprehend his words before he was off to the next topic.

So far, she’s been able to gather that he was raised in a monastery that takes in orphans from wizarding families. All of the kids there become a makeshift family of sorts.

It reminded her of her tribe. They weren’t all blood, but they were connected through a shared history. She shared these thoughts with the monk. 

Aang sent her another big smile. “You should come visit! We don’t have too much at the temple, but it makes up for it more than enough with its beauty.” He continued, listing all the things he loved about the temple.

Aang just started talking about how fresh the air was, when she saw a big silver nine on the wall.

Katara was so lost in conversation, she hadn’t noticed how close they were to the platform. Any minute now, they would see it. Any minute now, they would be boarding the Hogwarts Express.

The excitement that eluded her earlier, hit her like a sledgehammer. She held her breath in anticipation as she took the last steps to their platform.

Except, there was nothing. Only a brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

Katara stopped, scrutinizing the wall. But no matter how hard she looked, there was no 9 and ¾. She waited for her brother to catch up. He'd fallen a few steps behind, mourning the loss of his seal jerky.

“Sokka, where’s the platform?”

Katara hadn't noticed that Aang was still talking, until the monk quieted at her question. She watched the smile fall from Aang’s face for the second time that day. 

“What did I tell you? Look for the kids with the trunks,” Sokka pointed to a group children standing between platforms 9 and 10.

Katara hadn’t notice the kids before now, but sure enough, they all had trunks. One of the kids separated from the group, took a deep breath, and ran right into the wall between platform nine and ten. Katara held her breath as she waited for the impact, but it never came.

He simply vanished.

Katara gasped at the missing boy, only for another child to vanish in a similar manner. She stared around the train station to see if anyone else noticed, but the other train goers continued walking like nothing happened.

She turned to her brother. “What happened to them? Where did they go?”

“ _That’s_ platform 9 and ¾, behind the wall. Hogwarts can’t have a wizarding train out in the open. Come on.” Sokka grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to the mysterious wall with Aang hot on their heels. Sokka continued. “You two can go before me. All you have to do is run through. Don’t think about crashing into it, and you’ll be fine.”

Katara glared at her brother as he continued to push her to the front of the line of students getting onto the platform. Now all she could think about was crashing into the wall.

Her turn came soon than she'd liked, it had a lot to do with her pushy brother. She felt her palms get sweaty as she tightened her grip on the strap of her trunk, preparing to run into a wall.

Sokka placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll be right behind you!”

Without warning he pushed her toward the platform, Katara stumbling into a run.

The run was both too long and too short. Every step she took closer to the wall, the more solid it looked. She cursed her brother for his useless advice. The more she tried to think about not crashing, the more she thought about crashing.

When she was nearly there, she closed her eyes as she took her last couple of steps. She expected to feel the brick of the wall as it collided with her skull, but all she felt was a small gust of wind.

Unsure if she’d made it or not, Katara slowly opened her eyes, but the sight before her made them bulge in amazement. Before her was a large train with the letters 9 and ¾ above it.

She'd actually made it.

Aang’s jovial laughter came up behind her. It let her know the monk successfully made it through the wall. Sokka’s gruff voice followed a moment later, telling the bald boy to move.

Aang stood beside her and took a moment to marvel at the train, just like she had. He smiled at her, big and wide. “I’ve never ridden a train before.”

Katara hadn’t either. She was glad she wouldn’t be the only one riding for the first time.

Sokka's voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Come on, let’s get a compartment before they all fill up.”

The three kids made their way onto the train. They walked along the narrow hallway in search for an empty compartment. Sokka claimed the best way to find an empty compartment was to simply look inside and see.

So, her brother gave himself the job of finding their compartment. He would stop at a door, shove his head inside, and check if anyone was inside.

The problem began, when every time he shoved his big noggin through the door, he saw someone he recognized. Then, he would insist on saying hello and introducing his baby sister, no matter how many times she reiterated that it was unnecessary.

This process continued almost through the entirety of the train. Katra tried to keep track of everyone’s name, but there were too many people and by the seventh compartment, she’d given up.

Sokka introduced her to nearly everyone on the train, before they found an empty compartment at the very back of the train.

Katara gave a sigh of relief as her brother used his wand to lift their trunks into the overhead storage. Her arm was dead to the world and her legs weren’t much better. She practically collapse on the seat. Sokka followed her lead, taking one by the window.

Momo followed Sokka, landing on his lap as he chittering away.

Aang grinned at her brother. “I think Momo likes you!”

Momo then proceeded to stick his head back into Sokka’s pocket. Her brother groaned. “Or he just wants to steal more of my seal jerky!”

Katara couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up. “You could always ride in one of the other compartments-”

“Mom, I got this!”

“Apparently not. We’ve passed almost every compartment, and I know your arm must be tired from dragging that trunk along.”

“Because all the other compartments were full, and I’m fine. I’ve carried it this far!”

Katara paused in her teasing as the voices outside their door became louder. The two siblings shared a look.

Being from a small village, there was never anything too exciting to do. So one of the ultimate forms of entertainment was gossiping and eavesdropping to get more gossip.

The siblings were no exception.

They were nosey and going to Hogwarts wasn’t going to stop them anytime soon. They both moved to the door, sliding it open just enough so that they could see what was going on.

“Uh, guys?” Aang’s tentative voice breaking through the silence. “I don’t think it’s right to eavesdrop-”

Both siblings shushed the monk as they cracked the door open a little more. Outside their door, was was a girl, who couldn't be any taller than 4 1/2 feet, struggling with a ginormous trunk. She wore a green peacoat that looked like it cost more than Katara’s entire wardrobe. From the openings of her coat, dainty wrists and pale skin complimented black hair, her bang expertly styled to frame a button nose and pale green eyes.

Her eyes were the kind of green that reminded Katara of old man Palu’s eyes back home. Her GranGran always said his eyes were those that saw the soul and not the physical world.

An exasperated sigh brought their attention to the snooty woman that stood beside the girl. She was tanner and taller than the young girl, but their facial features screamed mother and daughter.

The woman was also more composed than the girl, not yelling like her daughter. There was only a hit of irritation in her words. “Oh darling, how could you know if they were full or not? You can’t...see.”

Something nudged her side, but Katara ignored it, as she tried to focus on the conversation. When the elbow kept persisting, she swatted the offending appendage. “Stop, Sokka.”

“I can’t see.”

Katara rolled her eyes. She turned her head so she could see her brother’s face and not the arguing mother and child. “I don’t care. Stop elbowing me.”

Of course, Sokka didn’t stop with his nudging, but increased it tenfold. The mature option would have been to move over a little, but Katara was only ten. So instead of moving, she began elbowing her brother back until they were having an all out elbow war.

Eventually, elbowing turned into full on pushing until she pushed Sokka hard enough that he lost his balance and fell on the door. He fell with just enough force to make the door slide the remaining way open, exposing the two eavesdropper and their innocent companion.

Katara expected the duo to be irritated by their spying, and the daughter definitely was, but her mother looked relieved at the sight of Sokka. The woman pointed her fan at her brother’s fallen figure. “Young man, help my daughter with her trunk. She requires help to find a compartment. She’s blind, you see.”

Now the girl was more than mad. Katara swore she could hear daughter growling. Sokka must have heard it too, because he didn't move to help the girl. Instead, he turned unsure eyes on the mother. “Yeah… I don’t think your daughter wants any help. Looks like she got it all under control...”

Pale green eyes flitted thankfully to her brother before focusing back on her mother. “Wow, is this what it feels like to be listened to for once? Maybe you can learn something here. I keep telling you. I. Don’t. Need Help. I’m blind, not an invalid!”

Mrs. Beifong blushed brightly at her daughters brash yelling, especially as other compartment doors began sliding open. Katara was glad to know that they weren’t the only nosey ones.

“Hush, Toph. Must you be so loud? This isn’t just about your condition. You are a Beifong and shouldn’t be expected to lift a finger, especially with your... condition. It’s time you learned that.”

Toph looked like she was ready to argue with her mother but was cut off by a single clap. “Just the words I expected from a blood-line as pure as the Beifongs.”

Their tiny group turned to the new voice. Katara felt her blood go a little cold at the sight of the same girl from Diagon Alley. Azula wasn’t accompanied by her father this time, but a rather gloomy girl and a smiley brunette.

They looked like an unlikely trio.

Toph’s mother gasped, bowing at the waist. “Azula Kasia! I wasn’t aware that the Minister’s daughter was starting her first year the same as my Toph. Maybe you two could become close friends. She could use the… assistance of someone of your status.”

Azula bowed back, but not as deep as Mrs. Beifong. “Of course, your daughter can sit in our compartment. Us pure-bloods must stick together, afterall. The waters are getting quite...muddy, and it’s imperative that we befriend the right sort of wizarding families.”

Her words made Katara’s skin itch. She felt the same anger from the Inventor’s Shop bloom in her chest. Katara was ready to check the princess this time, except Toph beat her to the punch.

“I don’t know,” She turned her unseeing eyes towards the siblings. How she was doing it, Katara couldn’t figure out. “I think I can see the right kind of Wizarding families just fine.”

Toph’s mother gasped dramatically as Azula’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Toph Beifong! Apologize right now-”

Suddenly, something wicked, graced the young Beifong’s face. She ignored her mother and turned to Sokka. “How many people are in your compartment?"

Sokka looked unsure as he looked at the group of girls before him. “Just the three of us.”

“Perfect.” Toph picked up her trunk and dragged it into their compartment. “Sorry, Azula. I think I’ll room with these three, instead. I bet your compartment is too stuffy with that pure-blood ego of yours, anyways.”

Mrs. Beifong sputtered as she looked at her daughter. “Toph, what are you doing-”

“BYE MOM! SEE YOU AT CHRISTMAS!” Without warning, Toph slammed the compartment door in her mother’s face and locked it.

Katara couldn’t see Mrs. Beifong, but she could image how the woman’s face looked as she screamed through the door. “Toph! Toph, you let me in this instance! Oh, you’re in serious trouble when your father hears about this!”

The three looked awkwardly at the door, but Toph didn’t seemed fazed by her mother’s yelling. She took a sit by the window without a care in the world, even propping her feet against the window. “Don’t worry. They’ll escort her off before the train pulls off.”

And sure enough, the final boarding whistle blew and a moment later the yelling stopped.

With her mother gone, Toph turned to the group. “By the way, I’m Toph Beifong, but I’m sure you heard my mother when she said it the millionth time.”  

They stared at the girl not sure what to say or do after a situation that crazy. Aang was the first to recover, shoving his hand in front of Toph. “I’m Aang Pasang. I’m a first year.”

“I’m a first year, too.” Toph shook the monk’s hand good naturedly. “Nice to meet you Twinkle Toes.”

Aang looked confused by the sudden nickname. “Twinkle toes?”

“You seem light on your feet.” She didn’t offer anymore explanation then that, turning her attention to the siblings. “So, you two don’t have names?”

Katara blushed at the brash way the girl spoke. She wasn’t _trying_ to be rude, Toph was the one who just invited herself into their cart. “Sorry, I’m Katara Amaruq, also a first year. This is my older brother Sokka, he’s a third year.”

“Third year?” Toph looked in the direction of her brother. “That means you can tell us about the school. Give us some first year advice.”

“You want advice from me?” Sokka preened as Toph nodded. "You are very smart to ask a wise man like me."

Katara groaned at her brother’s ego inflated to the size of the train. At least GranGran made him leave his faux-beard at home.

Still, Sokka stroked the air where his beard would’ve been. “Well, there’s not too much I can warn you about, the biggest advantage and disadvantage to magic is its unpredictability. However, if I could give you one piece of advice that must be followed. It would be-”

Toph and Aang both leaned forward at Sokka’s words, even Katara found herself paying more attention to her brother. He’s told her multiple stories of the strange things he’s seen and even a few spells, but never any advice.

When the pause lasted a few seconds _too_ long, Katara’s curiosity turned to annoyance. “Come on, Sokka! What is it?”

“Fine! Fine! Sheesh, some people have no respect for the dramatics.” Sokka face grew serious as he leaned into the group. They all held their breath when he finally spoke. “The best advice I can give you... Never friend a Slytherin.”

The words fell from his mouth rhythmically, almost like a spell. It hung in the air, thick between all of them. Then Aang went and ruined it, his tentative voice breaking through the tense atmosphere, “Uh, What’s a Slytherin?”

Katara was glad he’d been the one to ask. She was positive Sokka’s mentioned the name in one of his long winded rambles that she definitely ignored. The last thing she needed was for him to know she doesn’t listen to his little speeches.  

She waited for her brother’s response, he never missed an opportunity to flex his brain muscles, but it was Toph’s gruff voice that answered Aang’s question. “They’re one of the four houses at Hogwarts. Every student is sorted into one during their 7 years. Slytherin is the house where they put all the evil students.”

Toph made a show of wiggling her hands in a spooky manner, but Aang didn’t look too convinced. “Is that really fair? We shouldn’t judge someone without getting to know them. I’m sure Slytherin’s have some good qualities. At the monastery, we’re taught that everyone is good-”

Both Sokka and Toph burst into laughter in the middle of Aang’s speech, the younger of the two comically slapping her thigh. “Oh Twinkle Toes, you only think like that because you haven’t _met_ a Slytherin. They’re a bunch of pure-blood, stuck up kids who come from pure-blood, stuck up parents.”

Katara’s immediately thought of Azula and her obsession with being pure-blood. She would definitely be a Slytherin.

Aang tried to send Toph a stern look, but he looked more like a kicked puppy. “Aren’t _you_ a pure-blood?”

Toph wiped a tear from her eye. “I am. That’s how I know. Besides, it’s not like they don’t like being evil. It’s practically a recruiting house for the Death Eaters.”

“Death Eaters?” The name sounded unfamiliar to Katara. She chanced a glance at her brother, but he seemed just as confused as her.

Toph nodded. “Yeah, they were a secret, pure-blood society. Went around wearing black cloaks and killing muggle born Wizards.”

Suddenly, the day of her mother’s death made so much since. The black cloaked figures, the talk of pure-blood and the lack of mercy. She'd finally got the answer on why her mother was murdered. Her and Sokka shared a look.

Aang looked between the two siblings worriedly. “Is everything okay?“

“They killed our mom." The words sounded thick as she said them. Katara closed her eyes and took a deep breath to take some of the hurt out of her voice. "The Death Eaters, they killed her.”

Aang’s face fell even more, if that was possible, but she couldn’t make herself care. She wouldn’t be able to make the boy smile even if she tried.

“They’re gone now.” A soft voice broke her from her thoughts. Toph’s face looked apologetic as she starred in her general direction. Katara wouldn’t have believed it came from the same gruff girl that slammed the door in her mother’s face, but her eyes were not deceiving her when Toph opened her mouth for the second time.

“The ministry put a stop to the group six years ago. No one’s heard a peep from the group or so much as seen a black cloak. I only know about it because of my family’s status. It was made very clear that anyone who wanted to stay out of Boiling Rock, should forget about the Death Eaters and their philosophy.”

It didn’t quite ease the pain of her mother’s death, but it did give her some peace of mind knowing the group wasn’t still in operation. She gave Toph a small smile, before remembering the girl couldn’t see her. “Thank you.”

They all fell into a somber silence after that, until a knock on the door interrupted quiet. Aang got up to unlock the sliding door, revealing a pie faced woman. She smiled at them. “Hello children! Anything off the cart? I’ve still got plenty of candy and snacks.”

Sokka and Toph both jumped to their feet at the sound of food. The idea of food was a good distraction from the heavy atmosphere… or they were just hungry. She could never tell with Sokka and she'd just met Toph.

Katara got up from her seat, stretching as she did so. When she was done, she caught Aang’s eye as he sat back down. “No snacks?”

Aang’s head went a light shade a pink as he shook his head. “No, I packed a few tarts from back home. I’ll just eat those. You?”

She wanted to tell him he didn’t need to be ashamed about what he had. It was only yesterday that she learned she had any money at all. Instead, she just shook her head. “No snacks for me, but I’m going to head to the restroom. I just need… a moment, ya know?”

She wondered, for a second, if Aang did.

He was an orphan too. he never said when or how his parents were killed, but he obviously wasn’t from a big wizarding family because he went to the monastery.  Maybe he witnessed his mother’s murder or even both his parents at the hands of the Death Eaters.

She must have been staring, because Aang colored again and began rubbing his face insecurely.

Realizing what she was doing, Katara pulled her eyes away. She could have smacked herself for thinking something so heinous. 

Embarrassed, Katara practically ran out the door. It was only her luck that someone was also running down the hallway. The two of them collided, Katara cursing Tui and La as she fell on her back. She groaned as a fresh headache began to bloom.

Now she was doing an impersonation of Sokka with Momo at the train station. 

“Oh Agni, I’m sorry!” The voice was raspy, soft and definitely boy. “I got the wrong compartment- I was, uh trying...”

He was babbling now, obviously nervous at her silence. It was cute, but awkward. As the streamline of words continued, Katara finally sat up from the ground, with every intention to put the poor boy out of his misery and accept his apology.

However, one look at the person in front of her and her words of forgiveness were replaced with a gasp.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! this chapter got really long, so I split it in two and it still turned out longer than I like, so you guys got an extra long chapter this time. Both Toph and Aang were introduced this chapter, I hope it wasn't too many character's at once. (I promise the next chapter has Zuko in it!)
> 
> We're finally on our way to Hogwarts and the more interesting parts of the storyline. I hate laying the foundation, but it's needed for the rest of the story. Well see you next fFriday. 
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 5: Chocolate Frogs
> 
> “Give it back.”
> 
> Katara swallowed against the nervousness in the pit of her stomach that told her to do as he said. Instead, she focus on the righteous anger she’d felt earlier.
> 
> Sokka always said she never left well enough alone.


	5. Chocolate Frogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 5! I'm so sorry about the late upload! I want to give a huge thanks to my beta readers Carliwrites and Black-rose-writing (Team work make the dream work)!
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 5 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Katara was used to scars.

They were common amongst her tribesmen and she even had a few herself, but she’d  _never_ seen a scar like this.

Nothing compared to the scarred flesh that adorned the face before her.

It was an angry, red patch of skin, smooth were the brow should sit and pulled tight so the left eye only appeared an angry slit. The burnt skin continuing to a gnarled ear and irregular hairline, further displayed by the sleek, topknot of black hair.

Yet, the worst of the scar wasn’t the skin, but the contrast to the rest of his princely face.

Porcelain skin complementing an elegant brow and straight nose. The promising of high cheekbones and a strong jaw buried under the roundness of youth.

Dashing and dapper like every prince should.

The contrast was jarring, but Katara was surprised to find that the scar didn’t repulse her. It drew her in, even intrigued her.

Because, no matter how long she looked at it, the scar didn’t make sense.  

Fire lacks discernment. It consumes and burns all that it touches, yet his scar didn’t follow this pattern.

It was too concentrated. Only formed on the small patch of skin, as if chosen purposefully, intentionally.

“What are you looking at?”

Katara jumped at the harsh voice. His words were such a contrast to the jumbled apology seconds before, that they could’ve been from someone else, but the raspy tone was unmistakable.

Katara blushed bright red at the accusation. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to stare-”

He gave an ugly snort as he turned his scarred cheek away from her, “Save it. I couldn’t care less about an insincere apology.” He began collecting his fallen objects, which she could now see were various snacks.

Katara was perceptive enough to know that _this_ was her cue to leave the sullen boy to his task, but something wouldn’t let her.

It was the way he dismissed her apology. It made her so… angry.

Here she was, trying to apologize for clearly hurting his feelings and he wouldn’t let her! He was more interested in thinking the worst of her, as he collected his candy, and Katara couldn’t let that happen.

He was going to listen to her apology, whether he wanted to or not.

So, she did the only thing she could think to stop him. She grabbed the last candy box from the floor, and held it against her chest.

It succeeded in making him halt his retreat, but if looks could kill, she’d been 6ft under. Sokka always said she never left well enough alone.

Two golden eyes glared down on her. “Give it back.”

Katara swallowed against the nervousness in the pit of her stomach that told her to do as he said. Instead, she focused on the righteous anger she felt earlier.

“No, I’m trying to apologize and you’re being rude!”

“It’s rude to take people’s candy!”

“It’s rude to barge into other’s compartments without knocking!”

“I already apologized for that! Now give it back!”

Katara clutched the box closer to her chest. She lwas sure that the boy was smoking mad… unless she was imagining the tendrils of smoke coming from his ears.

Still, she didn’t wilt under his heated gaze, but met him head on. Neither of them backing down as they silently fought over the box of candy.

Katara wouldn’t lose. She’s had too many years of practice with Sokka to give into some boy.

“Zuko?”

Except, Katara and Sokka never had random strangers interrupting their staring matches. Katara startled at the new voice, even squealed a little. Unfortunately, the sudden namecall didn’t affect her rival.

He almost seemed to anticipate it.

He smirked back at her and Katara felt her cheeks blaze red in embarrassment. She fought the urge to remind him that she still held his box of candy. Instead, she glared at the person that made her lose.

The compartment door across from theirs was open, revealing a girl, a little taller than her, with an auburn bob and clipped back bangs.

She was dressed in the school’s uniform, minus the heavy black robes, with a silver and green tie perfectly knotted around her neck. Sokka’s words immediately coming to mind.

 _Never friend a Slytherin_.

Although, the girl didn’t look evil. Infact, she almost looked friendly as she bent down to help her opponent up from the floor, not flinching at his scar like Katara had.

The girl looked a little amused as she pulled Zuko from the ground, “What were you doing on the floor?”

Zuko opened his mouth to respond, “I-”

“What are you doing to my sister!”

Her brother’s sudden yell made her jump for the second time in five minutes. She turned to see Sokka and Toph making their way down the aisle, their arms full of different boxes of candy.

Sokka scurried to her side, pointing an accusatory finger at the pair, all without dropping a single piece of candy. It would have been impressive, if he didn’t have that manic look that was always followed by one of his crazy conspiracies.

“Oh, I know what this is! You two are trying to collect information from my sister, so you’ll have an upperhand on the Ravenclaw quidditch team! Zuko with the distraction and then the snake comes in to strike!”

Nothing but silence followed Sokka’s accusation.

Katara groaned internally. As smart as her brother was, he still amazed her with some of the things that came out of his mouth.

She wanted to tell her brother how silly he was being, but she didn’t want to side with the Slytherins. Especially, since Zuko looked like he wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance, but the candy in his hands kept his hands occupied.  

He settled for a long, suffering sigh, instead.

The ‘snake’, as her brother called her, rolled big blue eyes at Sokka. “You have to be on a quidditch team for us to collect info, and seeing how you didn’t make the team last year. I think there are a few holes in your theory.”

Sokka’s cheeks went a little pink at her bluntness, “I’ll make the team this year for sure!  Then I’ll take the quidditch cup from you smug Slytherins!”

“Sure you will.”

Sokka huffed, his pride obviously bruised by her breezy response. “If you’re not looking for info on me, why else is hotpants talking to my sister?”

When Zuko sighed this time, she was shocked to see a plum of fire escape his mouth, the bright flame temporarily casting his face in hues of orange and yellow. It was simultaneously breathtaking and scary.

When could people breathe fire?

Zuko glared at her brother. “I entered the wrong compartment.” He nodded his head to the same compartment that the redhead exited earlier.

Sokka made a shooing motion with his leg, that Zuko definitely didn’t appreciate. “Seems you’ve found your way back home. No point in hanging about. I’m sure my sister is sick of smelling soot breath.”

Katara was scared he was going to start breathing fire again, but the redhead interfered. She placed a calming hand on Zuko’s shoulder, shooting her brother another eyeroll. “Gladly.”

Just like that, the pair turned to enter their compartment and Katara was glad to see the disgruntled boy go… until she remembered the candy she still held hostage.  

“Wait!” Her sudden scream made Sokka jump ten feet in the air.

It felt good for someone else to be startled, even if it was her brother. She would have loved to see Zuko flinch, but he nor the redhead startled at her call. He simply halted at her words.

She was somewhat shocked that he actually stopped, but she wouldn’t push her luck. Katara held the box of candy out towards his turned back. “Here’s your candy...I didn’t actually plan on keeping it, even if you _didn't_ let me apologize.”

Zuko was quiet for a moment. Then he looked back at her, only allowing her to see his unblemished cheek.  

“Keep it.”

And with that, Zuko slammed the compartment door shut.

\---

 

“Well, what is it!” Toph was making grabby hands at her ‘gifted’ box of candy, even though the little Beifong had a whole mountain of candy to herself.

Without thinking, Katara tossed her the box.

A second later, she remembered that she just _threw_ a box of candy at a _blind_ girl. Katara wasn’t sure if she was more shocked or grateful when Toph easily caught the box.

She shook it around for a minute before frowning, “Ugh, they’re just chocolate frogs.”

“Chocolate frogs! Can I have them?” Sokka was looking expectantly between Toph and herself. Katara shrugged, it’s not like she knew what they were. Toph answered by throwing the box, but unlike her, Sokka didn’t catch the box before it hit his face.

Her brother glared at Toph as he rubbed his nose pitifully. She managed to send him a look that said ‘I’m blind’.

Katara didn’t even know a face like that was possible, but she’d only known Toph for four hours and she seemed to be full of surprises.

Speaking of surprises.

“Sokka who was that girl from Slytherin, the redhead? It seemed like you knew her.”

“Suki?” Sokka was greedily digging through the box of newly acquired snacks, “She’s the new Captain of the Slytherin quidditch team. All the teams are unisex, but Slytherin’s team is always an all girls team, call themselves the Kyoshi witches. They claim it’s because witches are the original broom riders, but if girls are so good, why are 90% of pro quidditch players male?”

Katara scrunched her nose at Sokka. Sometimes she forgot that her brother was from their very sexist tribe. That unlikeable characteristic only manifests itself here and there, and quidditch is definitely one of them.

It’s one of the reasons she put Quidditch in the ‘dumb male things’ category, like when the men of her village tried to see who could spit a loogie the farthest.

It had _nothing_ to do with the fact that she sucked at loogie spitting and broom riding.

Sokka threw one of the chocolate frogs into his mouth, “I hope I get a new card to add to my collection. I already have 43 out of the 200.”

Toph reclined lazily in her seat. “I have about five hundred at home.”

“Ohh really, would you by any chance have Cornelius Agrippa or Ptolemy? I heard they’re super rare!”

Toph sent Sokka the smuggest smile she’d ever seen, before shrugging her shoulders. “I wouldn’t know, I can’t really read them.”

Sokka looked like he was teetering between yelling at Toph or apologizing to the girl. Katara thought it best to intervene. “What about Zuko, the boy with the fire breath? Is that normal?”

Apparently, her brother decided that Toph didn’t deserve apology. If her smugness was anything to go by, she probably did it on purpose.

Sokka was sending Toph a dirty looks as he regarded her question, “Normal is relative around here. For Zuko’s family fire breathing isn’t too rare. He’s a Kasai, a pure-blood family that specializes in pyrokinesis. He’s always blowing things up because he can’t control his temper.”

Katara froze. Kasai? He’s related to Azula?

Suddenly, she could see it. The similar bone structure, pale skin, dark hair and those hard, golden eyes. She ignored the memory of soft honey eyes before she gasped and how bright they’d seemed.

“Is that how he got his scar?” She asked. Sokka was shaking his head before she could finish her question.

“No one knows how he got his scar. He didn’t have it or the pyrokinesis first year, but he only completed half the year anyway. Went home for winter break and didn’t return until year two, scar and fire power in tow… Some say that his scar was caused by a Dragon’s kiss, that granted him his fire power.”

Katara hummed as she listened to Sokka’s gossip, “Couldn’t be a dragon. Remember the fire we saw in Gringotts? It was way too wild for a scar like that. It had to be something more precise-”

“Katara, No. I see what you're doing, getting all emotionally invested. Stop it. He’s not someone _you_ need to fix. Besides, Zuko’s a Slytherin! Remember what I said about them?” Katara rolled her eyes, but Sokka wouldn’t let it go.

He gave her his sternest look, “I’m serious Katara. Promise me you’ll leave him alone. There’s a million other wonky things around here you can explore until your heart’s content, but not him.

Katara huffed iritabbly as Sokka went into full ‘overprotective brother’ mode. ”Relax Sokka. Me and him aren’t exactly buddy-buddy. I was just curious...I’ve never seen a burn mark like that, not even at the healing hut.”

“Are you a healer?” Aang’s been fairly quiet since they returned to the cart. She was glad to see he was in a chatty mood again. Maybe it was because Toph and Sokka insisted on sharing their candy with the monk.

Katara shrugged, “Not really. I used to help my GranGran where I could, but I hope to learn a few healing spells before the end of the term-”

A loud groan from Sokka interrupted their conversation. He was staring disappointedly at a pentagon shaped card. “Ugh, a Roku card. I’ve got like 5 of these.”

Katara paused at the familiarity of the name. It took her a moment, but she eventually placed it from her Hogwarts acceptance letter, “Roku? He’s the headmaster at Hogwarts isn’t he?”

Sokka nodded and handed her the card. A narrow faced man looked up at her. The white hair on his head tied in a top knot and a matching beard hung long passed the allotted space. She flipped the card over, and read the brief history of Roku out loud.

“Currently Headmaster at Hogwarts, Roku is considered the greatest wizard of modern times. Roku is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Sozin in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of Dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Sorcerer Bumi. Professor Ruko enjoys line dancing and pai sho.”

Katara flipped the card back over, but she was only met with a blank card.

“H-he left,” Aang sounded surprised as he peaked over her shoulder.

Her brother waved the boy off, “You get used to it. You’ll realize that photos in the magical world don’t like to sit still like the ones we’re used to.”

Sokka gave Katara and Aang all the cards he already possessed, so they could start their own decks. When the chocolate frogs were gone, they continued to work their way through all the snacks.

Not one did she recognized from home.

There were cauldron cakes, licorice wands, and Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum. Katara was enjoying a pumpkin pastry, when Toph convinced her to try an Every Flavor Jelly Bean.

The first one she bit into was an earwax flavored bean, at Toph’s great amusement. The more the girl laughed, the more confused Katara felt about the young heiress.

She was loud, brash, and showed little respect. On the other had, she treated everyone like that. Pure-blood or muggle-born. Toph was an equal opportunist.

Sure, she was a from a pure-blood wizarding family, but she didn’t seem to mind their company. Even acted like she preferred it over snooty pure-bloods, like Azula.

“Toph,” Katara interrupted the girls cackling as Aang spit out an onion flavored jelly bean, “What does your family do? Do they work in the wizarding world?”

Toph sobered up at her question and Katara was scared she wouldn’t answer, but the girl surprised her by doing the opposite.

“My mom doesn’t really do much, but be a lady of pure-blood. My dad works in banking. He was supposed to be the one to see me off today, but there was a break in last night at Gringotts. One of the vaults got hacked, so he had to go in.”

“A vault was hacked at Gringotts?” Sokka looked at the girl in interest. “What did they do to hackers?”

Toph huffed, “Nothing. They haven’t caught ’em. That’s why my dad had to go in. Check the books and what not. Whoever did it must be some kinda wizard.”

Katara tried to image a wizard brave or dumb enough to break into Gringotts, when the intercom interrupted her thoughts.

“Hello students. We will be Reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.”

Sokka stood up from his seat. “We should probably get changed.” They all nodded as they pulled their luggage from above. Pulling on their robes over their outfits.

Toph’s robes seemed perfectly tailored to her petite frame, while Aang’s were a little to short for his gangly frame, the black material stopping at his ankles. Katara pretended not to notice the way he self consciously pulled at the robes.

Instead, she focused on stuffing her quil and coins into her robes, not quite trusting that her trunk would make it to her room in one piece.

Sokka and Toph stuffed the remained of their treats into their robes before, they emptied their compartment and joined the bottleneck of students in the aisle of the train. Dressed in their cloaks, they left their trunks in the compartment.

Slowly, they made their way from the back of the train to the exit. When Katara finally stepped from the metal cocoon, she landed on a sleek platform that reminded her of the boat she took into the UK.

“First years! First years over here! First years over here!”

Katara recognized Iroh’s booming voice. She looked for the old man, but it wasn’t hard. Large hands held a lantern to the inky black sky like a lighthouse on the coast of the beach.

Iroh waved at her as she moved down the platform, but a gentle pull of her sleeve stopped her before she made it to the giant.

She found Sokka holding onto said sleeve apologetically. “Sorry sis, but this is where we part. I gotta go with the other students and you need to follow Iroh. Don’t worry, I’ll see you later. I promise.”

Katara’s stomach felt squirmy at the idea of her and Sokka separating. She knew she would see him again, it’s not like when she was stuck in the tribe without him, but she still liked the comfort of him by her side.

She wanted to fuss from him to stay, but she didn’t want to seem like a petulant child in front of the other first years. Especially since Azula didn’t seemed bothered by Zuko’s absence.

So, she simply nodded her head without incident, watching her brother as he joined his peers and she, Toph and Aang followed Iroh’s light.

\---

 

Iroh led them down the stairs to a winding path through a dense forest. It was so dark that Katara could see nothing but the light of their guide and the glow of the moon.

Unfamiliar animal noises were echoing around them. She might have been scared of them if she wasn’t sure Iroh’s off tune humming was scaring most of the wildlife away.

Katara was glad she decided to wear her boots from home instead of her school loafers, because the path was quite muddy. Toph was constantly complaining about dirtying her shoes and Aang kept losing his sandal to the sticky muck.

The other first years were complaining too, the loudest of which was Azula, but Iroh played everyone little mind. He just continued to hum as they moved along the never ending trail.

Iroh took them around another bend in the path, just like the hundreds before, but this one didn’t lead to more dark woods and muddy paths.

Instead, it led them to a lake that reflected the sky above it and a steep mountain blooming from it’s center. Katara’s eyes roamed up the large mass of rock until she gasped.  

At the peak of this mountain, stood a magnificent castle.

There were hundreds of little towers and turrets that sprang from the building, and the millions of windows sparkled like the night sky back home. And judging by the gasps from the other first year, Katara wasn’t the only one amazed by the school.

Iroh chuckled at the starstruck First years, “Ah Yes. That is our magnificent school, Hogwarts.”

Iroh allowed them a moment to appreciate the building, before bringing his large hands together in a frightening clap. “All right, enough looking. We must be on our way. If you kids are late to sorting the Deputy Headmistress will have my head. Everyone load up on a boat, no more than 4 to each.”

Katara hadn’t even notice all the little black boats sitting by the shore. She climbed in the nearest one with Aang, Toph and a girl with wild hair, named Ming.

When all the first years were on a boat, Iroh’s booming voice echoed through the quiet night, “FORWARD!” The boats heeded his command and began gliding across the lake.

Katara relished the rock of the boat as they floated closer to the school. It reminded her so much of the boats back home. Sadly, Toph didn’t feel the same as the girl started to turn green in the face.

When they reached the castle, they were not docked on the edge of the mountain, but taken through an ivy covered tunnel that led to an underground harbor. The boats docked themselves against the pebbled covered ground and the 1st years exited the boats.

Aang had a small scare when he couldn’t find Momo, but Iroh found the animal pretty quickly in one of the boats munching on a first year’s forgotten candy.

Though the old man didn’t look convinced when Aang thanked him for finding his cat.

“Okay, Is everyone off the boat?” Iroh turned to survey the children. He gave Aang another glance. “Do you still have your… cat?”

Aang blushed as he nodded to the old man. With that, Iroh led the group of first years up a final flight of stairs to a large wooden door.

Iroh’s big fist gave three heavy knocks against the heavy doors.

Then they waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the late upload! I'm in my last semester of college and I just got bogged down with school work. I'll try to have the next chapter out on schedule (this Friday). Thank you so much for all the comments! You guys make me really happy and I'm glad there are people enjoying the fic. 
> 
> Did you guys enjoy my son? Zuko is actually my favorite character in the atla universe, so I was excited to write him, especially from Katara's pov. He'll be recurring more frequently from this point on, so yay! Also Suki, that's my girl and she will definitely be a player in this fic (I gotta have the whole gang). Anyway the next chapter is house sorting so please look forward to that! 
> 
> Next Chapter: The Sorting Hat 
> 
> Katara could feel her heart drop to the bottom of her feet as her name was called. She felt like she was walking to her execution as she approached the stool. She must of looked a little green because Yagoda gave her a kind smile, “There’s nothing to worry about.”
> 
> Then everything went black.


	6. The Sorting Hat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 6! School is kicking your girl's butt, so sorry about the late upload! I want to give a support huge thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. You the best!
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 6 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

A second later a woman in a deep blue dress with puffed shoulders and a flared bottom opened the door.

Instantly, Katara was reminded of her GranGran.

She had the same snow white hair, tan skin and kind, blue eyes as her grandmother. The only difference was her elaborate hairdo and the silver rimmed glasses perched on her nose.

Iroh gave the woman a bright smile. “Why the blue skies do not compare to your beauty, Doctor Yugoda.”

Yugoda rolled her eyes at the giant, although some of her amusement slipped into the stern lines of her face. She turned her attention to the group of children behind him. “Is this the new crop of first years?”

Iroh winked at the old woman. “Of course! A gift better than a bouquet of flowers for a woman as passionate as yourself.”

This time, Yugoda ignored the giant, speaking only to the children. “Very well. Everyone follow me.”

Without a second glance, Yugoda turned from the doors and led them into the school.

All the children scuttled after the old woman, through the door, and into a grand foyer that was so big, Katara was sure her entire village could fit inside.

There were multiple grand staircases, paintings on every wall and chandeliers that hung from the impossibly high ceilings. It was everything she expected the inside of a castle to look like.

Vaguely, they could hear the other students as they entered the foyer from a different entrance. She expected they would follow behind the other students, but Yugoda didn’t lead them to the voices of their peers. Instead, they continued in the opposite direction, to a room substantially smaller than the foyer, but large enough to fit all the first years.

When ever student was squeezed into the room, Yugoda finally addressed them. “Hello children. As I am sure Iroh has already welcomed you, let me be the second. Welcome to Hogwarts.  We are happy to have you and to commemorate the new year, we have prepared a banquet for all of you.”

A buzz of excitement filled the room at the mention of a banquet. Even Katara’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food.The last real meal she had was early that morning, the candy from the train hardly constituting as a real meal.

Yugoda smiled at the first years. “In due time children, but before that, you must get sorted into your house. Your sorting is of the utmost importance, because here at Hogwarts, your house will be your home away from home. You will eat, sleep, and study with your house.”

All the children listened to the old woman in rapt attention. It was like everyone realized that their sorting would have a profound effect on their lives, from this moment on.

It was terrifying.

Yugoda continued. “The four houses are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Not only will you represent the rich history of your chosen house, but you will represent it’s future too. By completing triumphs or breaking the rules, you will either gain or lose your house points. At the end of the semester, the house with the most points will be given the house cup.”

Katara tried to keep track of all the information, but her mind kept going back to the four houses: Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

She could land anywhere amongst the other three houses, but she would do whatever she needed to avoid Slytherin. Luckily, the odds were in her favor.

The other children were also voicing their prefered house. Yugoda let them talk for a moment, before clapping her wrinkled hands. It was pitiful compared to Iroh’s ear shattering clap, but it still worked to get the attention of the children.

Yugoda continued her speech. “The sorting ceremony will begin in five minutes. Please double check your appearance before then. You want to make a good first impression. The ceremony will take place in front of the entire school, afterall.”

With that nerve wracking piece of information, Yugoda left a room of terrified first years with a promise to return.

Immediately, the room filled with chatter as students tried to figure out what the ‘sorting ceremony’ entailed. Everyone was throwing out their theories or advice from former first years.

No one could agree on the best advice or strategy, until someone speculated that the ceremony consisted of a few beginner spells. It was the best idea so far.

Everyone went about yelling what spells they knew.

Toph was one of the loudest, bragging about the plethora of spells she knew. When anyone asked her how she knew so many, she always replied back with a simple “I’m awesome, duh.”

Katara knew a few spells that Sokka taught her, but she was never able to get any of them to work. Her magic was always so unpredictable and reckless back home.

Aang didn’t know any magic. They only kind he’d ever performed was levitating in his sleep and he hadn’t been conscious when he’d done that.

Everyone was so nervous and tense as they tried to practice the little magic they knew, that the cheerful giggle within the crowd, might as well have been a blow horn in the small room.

Every pair of ears and set of eyes looked for the source of the giggle, until they landed on its maker.

There, at the center of the chamber, stood Azula and her two companions. The brunette giggling madly, completely unaware of the crowd.

Eventually Azula noticed, alerting the girl to the crowd. “Ty Lee.”

The giggling girl paused in her laughter, noticing the crowd. She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry guys! It’s just that Mai said something really funny!”

The gloomy girl with space buns rolled her eyes. “Sorry. I’ll try to tone down the comedy routine.”

Katara couldn’t imagine anything funny coming from that monotone voice.

When they continued to stare, Azula dismissed the crowd with a wave of her hand. “No need to stare. We’ll keep it down. You can go back to worrying yourselves to death.”

Everyone stared at the trio bewildered.

They were joking around like it was another day on the playground, not like they were going through an unknown process that would affect the next seven years of their lives.

They were all so calm.

One brave soul, a scrawny boy with crooked glasses, asked the question they’d all been thinking. “Aren’t you worried about the Sorting Ceremony?”

Azula turned around to face the crowd again. Even though the princess was the same height, if not shorter, than most of the students in the room, she still managed to look down on everyone there. “Maybe, if I wasn’t well prepared. Zuzu warned me that the sorting ceremony wasn’t for the faint of heart.”

The other first years hung off her every word. They waited until she was finished, before they began eagerly asking the princess question after question.

“Your brother told you about the test?”

“What is it like?”

“What did he say?”

The princess shrugged her shoulders, clearly enjoying the attention. “I can’t really remember… although,  Zuzu may have mentioned something about a rhinobear or a few saberdogs.”

With this new information, chatter broke out amongst the first years for the second time. Spells were completely forgotten as the children compared their skills against magical beasts.

Toph was bragging that she’d wrestled a rhinocub once, Katara was wondering if her hunting skills would work against a saberdog, and Aang was freaking out because he’s never harmed an animal.

He doesn’t even eat meat.

Toph was trying to tell a reluctant Aang the weak spots of a rhinobear, when a scream rang through the chamber.

For a moment Katara thought it was Doctor Yugoda, come to collect them for the ceremony. Except, she didn’t see the old woman, but 20 ghost passing through the wall.

They were translucent and glowy, their bodies a silver like color. The ghost were talking to each others, the two in the front arguing, as they failed to notice the first years.

A ghost with half of her hair shaved off and kind almonds eyes was speaking. "We should be kind and give him another chance. There’s an ancient proverb about forgiveness-”

A monkey, the size of a man, scoffed at his fellow ghost. “Of course you would say that Yangchen. It’s always forgiveness with you and- What are you lot doing here?”

Everyone jumped as the monkey suddenly addressed them.

Too shocked to speak, no one responded. A small thud rang through the room as one of the first years fainted.

Yangchen brightened at the pale faces. “Oh! They must be new students. Are you waiting for your sorting?”

A few of the children managed to nod to the monk’s question. The monkey man frowned at their confirmation. “Didn’t we just get first years? Go Away!”

The students jumped at his yelling, but Yangchen didn’t seemed bothered by the angry monkey. She waved him off easily. “Those students were from last year, these are new. Oh, I do love new students. I hope you are all in Hufflepuff. Its my alma mater, afterall.”

“That’s quite enough!” Katara was actually relieved as Yugoda reemerged from the door, shooing the ghost away. Sadly, her relief was short lived as the old woman continued talking. “It’s time for the Sorting Ceremony. Everyone line up!”

The first years scrambled to follow along with Yugoda’s demands. Katara stepped in line behind Toph, with Aang coming up on her rear.

When they were all in line, Yugoda led them outside their temporary sanctuary. The ghosts wished them good luck as they exited the room.

\---

 

The dining hall was absolutely beautiful.

The room was as big as the foyer, but the ceiling was unlike anything she’d seen before. Stars twinkled on a black sky, as if the roof was ripped off to reveal the night sky.

Katara heard one of the students say that the ceiling was bewitched to look the way it did. She wondered if they would teach her how to do such a thing. Then, she could make the sun appear in their tiny cottage back home for Grangran, when the long winter hit and the sun made itself scarce.

The line of first years continued into the dining room, until every last one of them stood before the entire school.

All the students were seated at four tables, each color coordinated based on their respective house. Katara tried to find her brother in the table of blue and copper, but she found herself glancing at the Slytherin table instead.

Katara was surprised to find that the Slytherin students didn’t look any different from the others. If it weren’t for the silver and green table runner, she couldn’t have pointed them out.

Then she saw him. Gold eyes, black topknot and that unusual scar. Zuko was seated near the head of the table, Suki sat to his right.

Katara immediately ripped her eyes away from the prince, afraid that he would catch her peering at his scar again. She ignored the flush that ran up her neck as she remembered their meeting on the train.

He should’ve just let her apologize.

Embarrassed, she abandoned her quest to find her brother. Instead, she focused on Yugoda, as the old woman separated from the first years.

Yugoda moved behind a simple, wooden stool, that Katara had failed to notice. On top of the stool, sat a pointy, purple hat.  

It was obviously an old hat. Its color faded to a dustier version of its original vibrancy, and the brim attached with a stitch job so bad, Katara was sure Sokka could do better.

Katara watched as the pitiful stitch job undid itself, the brim disconnecting from the top. She may have offered to fix the hole, if a boorish voice didn’t boom from its opening.

“Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The entire cafeteria broke into applause as the song ended, even a few first years clapped. The hat bent its pointy top to the audience like he was bowing.

Katara just stared at the talking hat. Everything about the hat felt so surreal, she felt like she’d missed the point of the song.

Aang bent forward, whispering in her ear. “We just have to try the hat on and it’ll sort us. No saberdogs or rhinobears.”

Katara felt herself relax at Aang’s words. She should have known better than to trust Azula.

She turned back to Aang, smiling at the boy. “Let’s try to get in the same house.”

She said it spur of the moment, but once the words were out her mouth, she realized how much she wanted it.

Katara liked Aang. He was sweet, polite, and she could definitely imagine the next seven years with the monk.

They could be each other’s home away from home.

He smiled back at her, big, open, and sweet. “Okay.”

Yugoda stepped forward again, addressing the first years more than the other students. “At the sound of your name, please sit on the stool and the sorting hat will be placed upon your head. When you have been sorted, please go sit with your respective houses. First name: Aarons, Julia”

Katara watched as Julia sat on the stool. Yugoda placed the hat on her head and a second later, the seam ripped open again to release the borish voice.

“RAVENCLAW!”

And the cycle continued.

“Afdahl, Tito”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Katara could feel her palms sweating as the old doctor, got closer and closer to her name. Until-

“Amaruq, Katara”

Her heart lodge itself in her throat at the sound of her name. Nervously, Katara walked up to the stool. She wondered if everyone could see the way she shook.

When she finally sat on the wooden stool, it felt more like an execution than a sorting.

She must of looked a little green, because Yagoda gave her a kind smile before placing the hat on her head. “There’s nothing to worry about, sweetie.”

Then everything went black.

The hat not only covered the top of her head, but her eyes and ears too. It made her feel encompassed by the darkness, like being underwater.

Suddenly a gruff voice spoke, his voice echoing across the black space. “Oh this is difficult, very difficult.”

She felt panic for a second, before she was able to place the voice to the hat. When her heart beat slowed, she called back to it.

_What? What is?_

“Well, you have a kind heart, loyal to a fault and a heavy dose of recklessness—“

_Hey!_

“Don’t worry, we call that courage here. However, you’re also ruthless, determined, and you definitely have something to prove...it’s a tough choice but I’m thinking Slyther—“

_No!_

The word echoed around the black space. She would not be Slytherin.

_Never friend a Slytherin_

The hat hummed as if he’d heard her thoughts, even considered them. “Your reservations are false. Slytherin could make you great—“

But Katara wasn’t interested. She denied his words vehemently, shaking her head.

_No, No, No, NO! No Slytherin! Anything but that..._

The hat sighed. “Alright, kid. If not Slytherin, then—”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

This time when the hat spoke, her ears rang at the sheer magnitude of his voice. Shortly after it’s scream, the hat was lifted from her eyes, exposing her to the four tables.

She watched in disbelief as a table of red and gold cheered for the first Gryffindor of the term. Katara felt her shoulders sag in relief at the absence of silver and green.

Yugoda smiled at her. “Welcome to Gryffindor.”

—-

 

“Beifong, Toph!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

The table to the left of Katara’s exploded in applause. The blind girl wore a huge grin as she stumbled her way to the yellow and black table.

Katara was surprised that she felt a little disappointment at the girl’s sorting. She secretly wanted Toph to join her in Gryffindor. It would’ve been nice to have the loudmouth Beifong as a friendly face. As it stood, she didn’t know any one in her house.

“Fletcher, Ty Lee.”

The brunette skipped her way to the stool. Her chipper demeanor in complete contrast to the sniveling first years before her. She even clapped when Yagoda sat the dusty fabric on her head.

Ty Lee had the longest sorting time at four minutes. Everyone sat in silence as they waited for the hat’s verdict. Only Ty Lee’s girlish giggles filled the ding hall, before the hat finally spoke.  

“SLYTHERIN!”

Ty Lee squealed in excitement as the Slytherins clapped for their newest member. The ditzy girl ran for her house table. Then sheepishly apologized when she had to return the sorting hat back to Yugoda.  

“Ito, Mai."

Mai was the complete opposite of Ty Lee. She was just as gloomy before she put the sorting hat on as she was after. The hat barely touched her black, buns before it spoke.

“SLYTHERIN!”

Katara couldn’t tell if the girl was happy or not about her placement.

Even the Slytherins seemed a little unsure as they clapped politely. The only person who cheered loudly for Mai was Ty Lee, her girlish screams echoing around the dining hall.

“Kasai, Azula.”

The entire dining hall quieted at the sound of Azula’s name.

Just like a princess, Azula walked calmly to the stool, cool and collected without a hair out of place. She held her head high as Yagoda placed the sorting hat on top of her head. There was a short pause before-

“SLYTHERIN!”

The Slytherin table exploded. Green and silver going everywhere as they stood on their feet clapping and screaming for their newest recruit.

Katara heard a chuckle to her side, though it lacked humor. “Looks like the princess has joined the Slytherins. No surprise there.”

“Princess?” Katara thought she was the only one who referred to Minister’s daughter as such. She turned to the voice, to find an older boy with long, brown hair. He looked about her brother’s age.

He nodded. “Yeah. Not officially, but she might as well be. And with the prince over there too, the Slytherins will be unbearable for the next four years.”

He pointed to the table and Katara followed his finger to the Slytherin table. Azula and Zuko sat next to each other at the head of the table, while the other students gave them a wide breadth of space. Only Mai, Ty Lee and Suki were granted permission to sit directly with the siblings.

They really looked like a royal family with their most trusted advisors.

She felt her arm get nudged by the same boy. “Don’t get too lost in the politics. Even if they’re pure-blood royalty, they’re still kids. I’m Haru, by the way.”

She gave him a small smile, happy that she had someone to speak to. “Katara.”

She would’ve liked to keep chatting with Haru, but Yugoda stole her attention with the next name she called.

“Pasang, Aang.”

Aang approached the stool slowly. He kept glancing at the four tables, trying to find something. It took her a moment to realize he was looking for her.

She stood from her table and their eyes instantly met. Katara sent him the biggest smile she could muster as he sat on the stool.

Katara sent a quick prayer to Tui and La, asking the spirits to put her and Aang in the same house. She wanted to have someone in this big, new scary world.

She could tell he needed her too.

The seam ripped open and Katara closed her eyes as she anticipated the words.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Katara collapsed against the table, numb at the words. They were in different houses, they weren’t together.

When Yagoda removed the hat, Aang looked close to tears. He still managed to smile for his table as they cheered for him, but she could see the lack of enthusiasm in his gait.

When he made it to the table, Toph punched him on his shoulder and it made Katara smile. Aang would be fine in Hufflepuff, he had Toph after all. The two of them could become each other’s new family.

Katara was the only one alone.

The other names flew by in a blurry. Katara didn’t pay them much attention. It’s not like she knew the other first years. All the names were just jumbled letters and sounds to Katara’s foreign ears.

The last name was Ziegler, Rohan. His placement in Slytherin marked the end of the Sorting Ceremony.

Headmaster Roku stood from his golden chair and addressed the students. “Welcome students to another year at Hogwarts! I am lucky to be your Headmaster for another year. We have much to discuss, but before that. Let us eat!”

Roku raised his hands and suddenly food began to appear right before her eyes. Every kind of food appeared before her: whole turkeys, mash potatoes, husks of corn, anything she could think of.

It was more food than she’d ever seen in her life.  

Haru chucked beside her. “You don’t have to just look. You can dig in ya’ know.” And to bring his point home, he passed her platter of roast beef that made her mouth water.

She didn’t need any more reassurance after that.

Katara stuffed her face with anything she could get her hands on. She was so nervous during the Sorting Ceremony, that she forgot just how famished she really was.

GranGran would be appalled at her table manners right now, but Katara took some comfort in knowing that Sokka would approve.

By the time the main courses were switched with desserts, Katara almost felt too sick to eat the chocolate lava cake Haru handed her… almost.

Katara was trying to shove another spoonful of chocolate cake in her mouth, when she felt the weight of someone’s gaze.

She checked her immediate surroundings, but no one at the Gryffindor table was paying her any mind. When the feeling of being watched didn’t leave her, she turned her eyes to the high table.

Roku was seated in the middle with Doctor Yugoda to his right. Next to Yugoda sat Professor Zei talking to a balding man with cropped grey hair and a stern face.

And he was looking directly at her.  

For a moment, their eyes met. Big, blue eyes to murky brown one, then a burning sensation bloomed around her left eye.

It felt like nothing more than a prickle of pain at first. Then the burning grew until the skin of her face began to blister and peel as the fire increased.

Her hand flew to her face to staunch the flames, but she couldn’t feel any.  

“Ah!” She let out a small scream as the pain increased to something unbearable. Fire consuming the entire left side of her face.

Then it was gone. As suddenly as the pain came, it left.

“Katara?” Haru looked at with concern. “Are you okay?”

Katara took a deep breath as she nodded her head. She touched the skin of her eye, expecting the skin to be broken and oozy, but it was just as smooth as the rest of her face.

Nothing happened.

Only the sweat on her hairline made the moment feel real.

Ignoring Haru’s concerned eyes, Katara looked back to the man at the table. She braced herself for the pain this time,  but he wasn’t looking at her anymore. He was staring at something just over her head.

“Ah!”

The sudden outburst pulled her away from the man. She looked toward the door, surprised to see Zuko, paused in the archway with Iroh hovering at his side. Katara could only see his back, as his shoulders hunched in pain.

She wanted to call out to Zuko, tell him the pain wasn’t real, but Iroh hauled the prince out the dining hall before she could open her mouth.

When they were gone, she looked back to the high table, but the man with the cropped hair was talking to Professor Zei, as if nothing had happened.

She felt the smooth skin of her face, and for just a moment she wondered if it did. “Hey Haru, who is the man talking to Professor Zei? Zei looks really nervous.”

Katara could feel Haru’s worried eyes on her as she rubbed the skin of her eye. She forced her hand away from the patch of skin. She picked up her fork to occupy her hand, shoving another bite of cake in her mouth.

Haru stared at her for a moment, as if he was debating whether to answer her question or call the school nurse. She was glad when he picked the first option.

Haru glanced at the table. ”Oh that’s Professor Jee, the potions teacher. That’s why, Professor Z looks looks more nervous than usual. Jee’s been trying to get the DADA class since forever, but Roku wouldn’t give it to him. Instead he hired Zei, a guy who’s afraid of his own shadow.”

Katara couldn’t help but agree with Haru. She’d only met Zei once, but he was obviously a skittish man.

Still, she trusted him more than Professor Jee.

\---

 

When all of the dessert was eaten and the children were in a near comatose state, Roku stood, once more, from his golden throne.

He addressed the children happily. “I see that many of you are only half awake, but allow me to have your attention one last time.”

A murmur broke amongst the children, a few complaining, but Roku raised his hands and the whispering stopped immediately. “First item, the forest surrounding the castle is forbidden, hence the name Forbidden Forest. I expect you all avoid it. This is not just a warning to the first years...”

Roku gave a pointed look at the Ravenclaw table, and Katara was a little embarrassed to hear her brother give an indignant “Hey!” as snickers traveled around the room.

Roku raise his hands once again to stop the chatter. “Along with the Forbidden Forest, the right wing of the third corridor will also be off limits, unless you wish to die a most painful and slow death.”

Again, chatter began amongst the students, but Roku didn't move to quiet the them.

Katara turned frightened eyes on Haru. “Is he serious? About the painful death part?”

Haru didn’t look to disturbed by the news. He simply shrugged at her question. “Roku has a weird sense of humor, but I’m pretty sure he’s serious. Best not to test it.”

Roku continued with announcements, but after the 'dying a slow and painful death' bit, Katara tuned most of it out.

However, the school song was a little harder to tune out, considering that it didn’t seem to have a tempo or key.

By the time her brother and his friend finished their funeral procession of the school’s anthem, Katara felt indebted to the Gryffindor Prefect, who announced that it was time for first years to go to the dormitory.

Katara was excited to finally go to the Gryffindor dorms. Not just because she was tired from the long day, but she figured their guided tour would be a great opportunity for her to learn a little bit about the layout of the castle.

It was a good plan. Except, the Prefect took them through so many hallways, tunnels and staircases that Katara couldn’t find her way back to the dining hall even if she wanted to.

When they made it to the painting of the fat woman, Katara only remembered two things: their house was behind the portrait and the password was 'Caput Draconis'.

Behind the portrait, they climbed through one last tunnel, before they entered a lounge area. There were plush couches and chairs everywhere in the room along with a few desk and a fireplace. Katara thought the place looked cozy, except for the overkill of red and gold that adorned everything in the house.

She wouldn’t be forgetting her house colors any time soon.  

An older girl took them to their dorms. The girls went through a set of doors, leading them to a spiral staircase. Katara was directed to a room with four other girls, but she didn’t care, because she’d finally found her bed.

It wasn’t what she was used to. The four poster bed with red, velvet curtains was a far cry from the blue walls of her cottage and her animals furs, but it mattered very little to her in the moment.

She fell across the bed, noting that her trunk made it to her room after all. She planned to go through it, to make sure all her stuff was there, but she needed to rest her eyes for a bit.

Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Katara blames that last bite of chocolate cake for the dream she had.

She found herself on the wooden stool again, with the pointed hat placed on her head. However, this time the hat didn’t scream Gryffindor, but Slytherin.

When Yugoda pulled the hat off, there was no clapping from her fellow housemates, just the sound of her mother weeping. Katara could see her at the table, Sokka cradling their mother as she cried.

Her brother wouldn’t even look her in the eyes.

Katara tried to tell her family that it was a mistake. That she could never be a Slytherin, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was hissing. Suddenly Professor Zei appeared, accusing her of speaking parseltongue.

She tried to deny it, let everyone know of her innocence, but there was no denying the hissing that fell from her mouth. When she looked back to her family, it was the potion’s teacher who stood before her. He stared at her with dark eyes and barely covered distaste.

Then there was a burst of green light and Katara woke from her dream, sweaty and tangled amongst her sheets.

As she laid back in the bed, she couldn’t quite shake the dream.

By morning, she’d completely forgotten it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late...again. I may have to disregard the upload schedule until school ends in May (I'll still upload once a weekish)
> 
> Yay for Sorting! This chapter was really hard for me, because many of the characters could fall into two houses, depending on which characteristics you wanted to focus on. I actually like Katara as a Slytherin, but the connection between them and the death eaters wouldv'e put her off.
> 
> I think the hat will sometimes let the kids negotiate their placement if it's really close, like with Harry. Other times the hat refuses, like it does with Neville. This is what happened to Aang, he wanted to be with Katara, but the hat denied him for that reason. If anyone is interested in talking house let me know. Some of them I can't talk directly about because of plot reasons, but yeah my tumblr is Kenbunny123. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! See you next time!
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 7: Lessons
> 
> Jee glared at the two teens, “You two are partners now. That means your grades are connected. If one of you fails, you both do."


	7. Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 7! I'm graduating in like 3 weeks, so sorry about the late upload! I want to give a support huge thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. I literally love you!
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 7 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

If Katara thought remembering her way to the dorm was impossible, she wasn’t prepared to find her classes.

Hogwarts was massive.

With over 200 stairwells, a thousand hallways and at least a million rooms, it was only natural she would get lost. However, Katara was sure, with a little direction, she would memorize her routes to class.

The problem is that nothing is normal at Hogwarts, and the stairs were her first reminder.

Katara was five years old when she first heard of an escalator. She was amazed by the idea that a flight of stairs could move up or down without the rider’s need to walk. 

If only her five year old self could see the stairs at Hogwarts.

Here, the steps didn’t just move on their own, _entire_ staircases moved.

A staircase that took you to the first floor Wednesday, could take you to the third floor Friday. Or maybe, the stairwell is missing altogether, because it’s only available before lunch.

Even if you find the correct staircase, you had to be sure the steps were ‘on the clock’.

Stumbling across one of these off-duty staircases would send you sliding back from wherever you came. Forcing you to find a more willing staircase and praying that you aren’t _too_ late for class.  

The doors were a similar headache.

Some required passwords and others had to be tickled just right before they opened. Katara ran into a door on her second day of class that refused to open, because she hadn’t introduced herself before grabbing it’s knob.

Even worse than fickle doors, were walls that pretended to be doors. You’d spend several minutes coasting a door open, only to reveal a brick wall behind it.  

Katara found that the ghost where a huge help in avoiding those tricky doors. Most of the ghosts at Hogwarts were friendly and willing to give advice… or directions. Unfortunately, the directions weren’t always right, but it was the thought that counts.

The Monkey ghost was a different story.

Whenever some unfortunate first year made the mistake of asking the Monkey for directions, he would go into a fit of rage. Demanding that everyone in a 50 ft radius ‘Go Away!’ and leave him be. His screams were loud enough to give anyone a headache.

Katara only made the mistake of asking the Monkey for directions once.

Worse than the Monkey ghost, was the school’s caretaker, Shangren.  

Shangren was an older fellow with tan skin. He had a grey beard and two greasy tufts of hair on either side of his head.

And he always smelled like day old cabbages.

Katara made the egregious mistake of getting on the caretaker’s bad side. She was rushing to class, turning a corner just as Shangren was pushing his custodial cart through.

The two collided together, sending his cleaning supplies everywhere and the both of them tumbling to the floor.

When Katara hit the ground, she felt herself fall on something rather cushy instead of the stone floor she was expecting.

It wasn’t until Shangren started screaming “My Cabbages!”, that she realized that fluffy thing she landed on was his cat, Miss Cabbages.

Initially, Katara felt  bad for sitting on the poor kitty, even attempting to apologize to Shangren. However, after a few days of getting to know the cat, she didn’t feel quite as bad for sitting on the dust covered furball.

Cabbages, or Ms. Cabbages as Shangren insisted she be called, was a wicked little thing.

Her big bugged eyes caught you breaking any rule and she was scurrying after Shangren. It would only take a minute or two, before the caretaker was running down the hall, sweaty and panting, to catch you in whatever act his beloved cat called him for.

Katara was sure Ms. Cabbages was the one who caught the first year trying to force her way through a door on the third corridor. She hadn’t seen the cat, but the way Shangren ran up behind her huffing and pointing his finger, she knew it was that ruddy thing.

To make matters worse, the door Katara was trying to force her way through was actually the door to the forbidden third corridor and not to her charms class.

Katara knew, even is she tried to explain herself, Shangren wouldn’t believe her. If it was up to the caretaker, she was headed straight to Roku’s office.

Luckily, Professor Zei came and saved her from the deranged man and his cat.

Unfortunately, Shangren seemed to be the only thing Professor Zei seemed capable of defending her from, because his Defense Against the Dark Arts class was a joke.  

Zei started the class off by listing his credentials and experience in the dark arts. Katara believed his academic prowess, but he lost her the moment he started talking about his adventures.

She couldn’t imagine Zei fighting vampires in Romania or saving an African prince from a zombie. She couldn’t even imagine him killing a bug with his own shoe.

All she could see was the sniveling professor in the pet shop.

Katara wasn’t the only skeptic of their DADA teacher. Chan Yang, a boy from Slytherin, asked how he killed the zombie. Zei answered by turning a light shade of pink and commenting on the weather.

The rest of her classes followed a similar pattern of being nothing like she expected. Katara learned, fairly quickly, that the Hogwarts curriculum demanded more than just wand waving.

On Wednesday’s, she had to wake up at midnight and study the stars and the movements of the planet, with a portly woman with a pointy nose named Professor Wu.

Wu was always rambling about destinies and the future, and Katara thought all that sounded more interesting than trying to find the Little Dipper.

Three times a week, she went to a small greenhouse for her herbology class. The class was taught by a woman with long white hair pulled away from her face. The Professor never bothered to introduce herself before beginning the first lesson.

Sokka told her that no one knew her name, except maybe Headmaster Roku. Everyone just called her Professor H or the Herbalist.  

Katara didn’t mind the class. She enjoyed learning the different kinds of plants, and she was excited that she shared the class with the Hufflepuffs. It meant she got to see Aang and Toph pretty regularly.

They even introduced her to a new friend, Kuei.

Kuei was a scrawny kid with glasses. He was so thin that it’d only take one good breeze to whisk the first year away.

Apparently, Kuei and Toph were raised in the same pure-blood circle, but she assured Katara and Aang that he wasn’t like the other stuck up, pure-blood brats. Kuei was sweet, kind, and a little jittery. Toph claimed that the two of them used to go on adventures through the woods back home.

Katara believed it about as much as she believed Professor Zei fought vampires in Romania.

Once a week, Katara went to the most boring class in the world, the History of Magic. The only thing that was exciting about the class, is that it was taught by a ghost, Professor Pathik.

Professor Pathik looked as old as magic itself, nothing but bone, wrinkles, and a long white beard. It’s said that the old man took a quick break to enjoy a cup of his favorite onion and banana juice, and when he got up to teach his next class, he left his body behind.   

Hogwarts thought about replacing the teacher, but Roku thought it inhumane to rip the man from something he truly loved to do...and it helped the school budget.

Charms was taught by Professor Piando. After the misunderstanding with Shangren, Sokka made it his mission to walk Katara to her charms class, so she didn’t get lost.

Piando was nice, but he was extra friendly when he realized she was Sokka’s sister. It was the only time being Sokka’s little sister was an advantage.

Doctor Yugoda taught transfiguration and she was just as stern in the classroom as Katara expected.

The final bell was barely done ringing, when Yugoda began lecturing. “Transfigurations is the most dangerous and complex magic offered at Hogwarts. If I see anyone goofing off with my classroom, you will be made to leave and not allowed back in. Do I make myself clear?”

The class murmured their agreement. Yugoda nodded at the class before turning her desk into a moo-sow. Katara gasped in amazement with the rest of the class, both at the trick and the hybrid of a cow-pig.

Of course, they weren’t allowed to do something as complex as turning their desk into moo-sows. Instead, they spent the first class trying to turn a match into a needle. 

It was much harder to do then the simple tap that Yugoda showed them.

After a few minutes of trying, everyone was frustrated as the match failed to change into a needle. It made Katara a little happy to know she wasn’t as far behind the other children as she thought.

She even felt a little advanced, when she was the only one able to make her match turn silver and a little pointy. Yugoda gave her a rare smile for her efforts.

\---

Friday was her first big milestone.

It was the first day Katara was able to make it to the dining hall mostly on her own, not counting the subtle coughs from Haru to guide her in the right direction.

When they got to the dining hall, Haru went for the Gryffindor table while Katara joined her friends at Hufflepuff.

Initially, Katara was hesitant to sit away from her house, remembering the speech from Yugoda on the day of the banquet: _Your house will be your home away from home. You will eat, sleep, and study with your house._

Which is why she was so shocked when Sokka sat at the Gryffindor table the following morning.

Katara glanced at her brother, hoping that none of the other students noticed his presence. “What are you doing here? This isn’t your house!”

Sokka easily blew off her concern. “Calm down sis. No one’s going to say anything to me for sitting here. You can eat anywhere, if you want...unless you’re Slytherin.”

And as much as she hates to admit it, Sokka was right.

Katara watched as the older kids, and a few of the first years, moved freely between tables. It seemed that all the students were free to mingle with all the houses.

Everyone, but Slytherin.

Not a single student in green and silver, strayed from their table, nor did any of the other houses dare to sit amongst the table of snakes.  

Lucky for Katara, her friends were in Hufflepuff and not Slytherin. She ignored the table of green and silver, as she approached her friends.

She could see Aang saved her a seat to his left, like he’s done since she decided to start sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

Katara smiled as she sat in her reserved seat. “Hey Guys.”

“Good Morning Katara!” Aang gave her his thousand watt smile. It always amazed her that he managed to be so perky this early in the morning. He waved his schedule at her. “What classes do you have today?”

Katara pulled her schedule from her robes, then groaned. “I have double-block potions… with the Slytherins.”

Toph gave her a sympathetic whistle. “We had potions on Monday and let me tell you, Jee wasn’t the type you wanted to start your week with. I can only image how he’ll be with Slytherin in the class. He’s head of Slytherin, ya’know.” 

Katara shrugged as she scooped some eggs on her plate. “Yeah well, Doctor Yugoda is the head of Gryffindor and she still gave me enough homework to build a skyscraper.”

Her back still hurt from carrying all those scrolls to her bedroom.

Katara’s thoughts were interrupted by the mail. She’d been there for nearly a week and she still wasn’t used to the school’s postal system. Every morning, hundreds of delivery birds swarm the dining hall in their feathers.

Still, Katara watched as the birds dispersed, delivering letters and care packages.

Toph received a container of fancy perfumes from her mother, that made the Hufflepuff gag, and a letter from her father.

Katara offered to read it for her, but Toph explained it was a talking letter, called a Howler. Then she warned Katara if she ever saw a red one, she should run for the hills.

Aang received a basket of fruit tarts and a card from his monastery. His basket was delivered by the same chittering ‘cat’ as Momo.

So far, Kuei received a package everyday from his mother. This one contained his remembrall.

It was a odd thing, a sphere with a reflective surface that reminded her of an eightball. It was meant to remind the wielder when they forgot something by flashing a bright red.

Ironically, Kuei forgot his remembrall at home.  

As everyone received their packages, Katara tried not to be disappointed when Hawky failed to show. She knew she was being unfair to Hawky, expecting him to have delivered and returned as fast as the other birds, especially when he had so much farther to fly.

But that knowledge didn't make her feel any less lonely and wishing to hear from her Grandmother. 

Katara decided that she would focus on eating her breakfast before class started, when she was startled by a small, white owl landing in front of her, with a letter in its mouth.

The owl dropped the envelope on her plate before picking at of her toast. She let the owl be as she picked up the letter, her name  written on the front in an loopy script. Curious, Katara opened the letter. 

 

_Dear Katara,_

_Care to join an old man for tea on your afternoon off? Your brother knows the way. I would love to hear about both of your first weeks!_

_Send your response with my feathery friend._

_Iroh_

 

Katara smiled at the piece of paper.

Back home she always drank tea with her GranGran whenever they could afford it. It would be nice to finish her evening with a cup of tea around a friendly face.

She reached into her satchel and pulled out her mother’s quill, signing a big ‘Yes’ across the bottom.  

“Did you finally hear from your GranGran?” Aang was peering over her shoulder at her letter. He knew she was waiting to hear back.

Katara shook her head, passing the note to Aang so he could see it. “No, it’s from Iroh. He’s invited me to tea.”

Aang’s big grey eyes slid over the letter as he read it, before moving to her. “Can I go to Iroh’s, too? Master Gyatso used to talk about him sometimes. I’d love to meet him.”

Toph threw her hand in the air. ”Ooh, I wanna go on the field trip, too. Anything beats an afternoon of doing homework.”

Katara bit her lip as she tried to decide what to say to her Hufflepuff friends. She didn’t want to impose on the giant by inviting so many people along with her.

On the other hand, Aang and Toph were sending her serious puppy dog eyes and how was she supposed to say no to that.

Katara sighed. “Fine, you guys can go.”  

She would just make a note to Iroh about the extended guest list. It would give him plenty of time to cancel if he wasn’t up for the additional guest.

Katara turned to Kuie. “Do you want to go to Iroh’s too?”

Kuie shook his head hard enough to make his glasses go askew. “No thanks. Iroh lives near the forbidden forest. I’d rather stay in my dorm where I know it’s safe.”

Katara nodded at the boy, before repackaging the note and sending the owl back out to its owner. Hopefully the giant wouldn’t mind two more guests.  

\---

The potions room was at the very bottom of the school in a dark, damp dungeon. Sokka told her the potions room was next to the Slytherin dorms and Katara finally understood why they were all so pale.

They never got to see the sun.

When she entered the potions room, she couldn’t decide if the shiver that ran down her back was from the sudden drop in temperature or the unsettling eyes from the pickled animals that lined the walls.

“Name.”

Katara jumped at the monotone voice. She turned to find the potions master behind her. Immediately, Katara’s mind went back to the night of the banquet and how she was sure he was the one that made her feel that phantom pain.

Katara stared at the man, wondering if he would do it again, but Jee simply stood there, tapping his clipboard impatiently.

When spoke to her again, he all but growled. “I said name.”

She sputtered out her response. “K-Katara Amaruq”

“Amaruq, hmm?” Her name had the opposite effect on Jee than it had on Piando. Katara could hear the distaste in the way he pronounced her last name. “Another comedian, if your parent and brother are to go by.”

Katara shook her head. “No, sir. Not a funny bone in my body-”

The potion master cut her off  before she could even finish her sentence. “I should hope so. Take a seat Amaruq.”

Properly dismissed, Katara made her way to the tables. The table were mostly filled, two students per desk and it seemed the students divided themselves, one side Slytherin and the other Gryffindor.

On the Slytherin side, she could see Azula and her gang were already seated. Azula and Ty Lee to one table and Mai and Chan at the one behind them.  

Katara decided to take a seat at an empty table on the unofficial ‘Gryffindor’ side. She was in the middle of setting up her cauldron when she saw the last person she expected to enter her Beginners Potions class.

It was Zuko and he looked angry.

He was wearing that menacing scowl that made his scar appear more ferocious than usual and he was literally _smoking_. Katara watched the black tendrils of smoke coming out of his ears.

Zuko made a beeline toward Jee, stomping the entire way without making a single noise. It would have interested her, if Zuko didn’t look like he was going to spontaneously combust in the middle of the potions room.

When the prince spoke, it had to be a miracle how measured his words were. “Professor Jee, may I speak with you for just a moment?”

The longer Zuko stood there the more he looked like a ticking time bomb. A couple of the kids in the first row were starting to look a little anxiously at the prince, but Jee didn’t seem bothered.

He took his time to finishing whatever he was writing before acknowledging the prince. “What can I do for you, Kasai?”

“This.” Zuko pulled out a burnt piece of paper from his robes. “My schedule says I’m in Beginners Potions, but that can’t be possible.”

Jee studied the paper uninterested. “I don’t see why not. Last I checked, you only completed the first semester of Beginners Potions and took an absence for the other half.”

Now the paper in Zuko’s hand was smoking too and a few of the children in the front row, moved behind the table.

Zuko all but growled. “Professor Jee, I took your year two potions class, last year. And I was the top of the class. If it wasn’t a problem last year-”

“Your acceptance into the second-year potions class was a mistake on my part.” Jee cut in smoothly over Zuko’s gruff speech. “But an unfinished class is still unfinished, Kasai. Take a seat with the rest of your classmates.”

“What?” A plume of fire shot from Zuko’s mouth. “No way am I taking a class with a bunch of first years. You can’t do this-”

Jee suddenly stood from his desk, his seat hitting the floor with a bang loud enough to quiet the prince.

The potion master leaned over his desk, so he was looking directly into Zuko’s face. “Do not think your status as the Minister’s son holds in this room. I won’t have some disgruntled 11 year old with an anger problem telling me how to do my job. Have. A. Seat.”

Zuko didn’t seem fazed by the threat. Katara was sure the the third year wasn’t going to back down so easily. Even the kids in the second row moved to the third row in preparation for the expected explosion, but the explosion never came.

Surprisingly, they had Azula to thank for that.

The princesses voice easily cut through the tension. “Come off it ZuZu, before you get in trouble. You can work with us. I’m sure Chan will be happy to move.”

Chan didn’t look particularly happy to move, but the boy began to pack his things anyway. Katara watched as Zuko’s face softened a fraction at his sister’s invitation. It seemed like the conflict had been avoided, except the potions master wouldn’t leave well enough alone.

Jee held up a hand to stop both Chan and Zuko from moving. “No need to move Mr. Yang. I won’t have siblings working together in my class. Kasai will sit-” Jee scanned the room before falling on the empty stool next to Katara.

”Sit there. Next to Amaruq.”

Zuko followed Jee’s stare to Katara and the moment he laid eyes on her, she knew he recognized her as the girl on the train. The little bit of softness that Azula brought to his face, was instantly gone.

Katara expected Zuko to throw another fit about being paired with her, but to her surprise, he only scowled as he sat in the empty seat.  

With the prince seated, Jee began his first lecture on potions, everyone furiously writing notes. Everyone but Zuko. He just sat at his seat glaring at Jee’s back in the hope he would spontaneously combust.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Jee called out to the boy. “Is there a reason you are not taking notes, Kasai?”

“I haven’t heard anything I don’t know.” A few of the kids gasped as his straightforward answer.

Jee turned around returning the boys glare. “Oh really? If you know so much, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

Zuko rattled the answer off without much thought. “A powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of the Living Dead.”

If Jee was annoyed he got the answer right he didn’t let it show as he rattled off a second question. “Where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?”

And just like the previous answer, Zuko responded without a moment of hesitation. “It’s a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it’s an antidote for most poisons.”

Now Jee was looking at him with open disdain, everyone looking back and forth between student and teacher.

Katara was was trying to put as much distance between her and Zuko, just in case getting on Jee’s bad side was contagious.

Unfortunately, it looked like she’d already caught it.

“Amaruq!” Katara startled as Jee suddenly called her name. Her head snapped up to meet the cold, brown eyes of the potion master. “What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?”

She felt her face grow hot as every student turned to face her. How was she supposed to know this? “Uh, I don’t know sir, but I’m sure Zuko does.”

To her horror, the class began to snicker at her answer. Katara cursed herself when Jee looked at her with pure annoyance. So much for the ‘I’m not funny’ routine.

Now, Jee was glaring at Zuko and Katara. “For the rest of the school year, you two are partners. That means your grades are connected. If one of you fails, you both do. That goes for everyone here. The person you are seated next to is your responsibility for the rest of the year.”

“You should make sure your partner is just as knowledgeable as you, Mr. Kasai.” Jee met Zuko’s glare for a moment, before turning back to the chalkboard. “Oh, and ten points from Gryffindor for Amaruq’s little joke.”

In the second block of potions, Jee started them on a simple potion to cure boils. Katara watched as the potion master made his way around the room like a terror in the night, harshly critiquing every student on their work.

The only person free from his wrath was Azula.

Katara‘s not sure how she did it, but Azula’s somehow convinced Jee she can do no wrong.

At first, she thought it was because Azula was a Kasai, but that theory was quickly ruled out because Jee clearly hated Zuko. In fact, the potions master made it his mission to constantly compare the two.

If Zuko crushed a tooth of a tiger seal into a powder, it wasn’t as fine as Azula’s. If Zuko separated all the ingredients correctly, he didn’t do it as fast as his sister.

Azula found the contest amusing, while Katara could tell Zuko was getting frustrated with Jee’s antic. It had to be a hit to the pride to have your first year sibling doing better than you.

Jee’s voice ripped her from her musings, his monotone voice relying the next instructions. “If you have completed the last step, add the porcupine needles to your mixture.”

Katara blinked a few times as she realized she’d been tuning the potions master out. She didn’t know is she missed the last step or not. She looked at Zuko’s pot as he added the porcupine needles. His potion didn’t look any different from hers, so she assumed it was safe to add the needles.

Katara went to add the ingredient, but was stopped by a strong hand to her wrist.

The sudden contact made her jump, the hand on her wrist far warmer than her natural cool skin. Katara turned to the perpetrator and was mildly surprised to see Zuko, staring intensely at the needles in her hand.

He glared at her. “What are you an idiot? Don’t mix that.”

Katara glared right back, pulling her hand from his grasp. “Why not? Professor Jee said so.”

Suddenly, a small explosion sounded on the Slytherin side of the room.

Chan’s cauldron was nothing more than a big hump of metal, his potion oozing everywhere. And even worse than the pot, was Chan. His entire body was covered in boils from where the potion exploded on him.

The rest of the potion oozed on the table and floor, and all the Slytherin’s where standing on their stools to keep from the same fate.

Jee ran over to the boy, cursing him for his stupidity. A swift wave of the potions master's wand and the spilled potion disappeared. Jee then ordered Mai to walk her partner down to the nurses office.

Zuko watched the two slytherins leave before turning back to Katara. “ _That’s_ why. You can’t mix porcupine needles before you turn the fire off, or that happens.”

She didn’t really know what to say, he just saved her from a bad case of boils.

Katara glanced at the prince. “Um, thanks.”

Zuko just grunted and went back to his potion. “Just pay attention next time.”

\---

They all stumbled after Sokka, as the Ravenclaw led the small group of first years down the sloped grounds of Hogwarts.

After a stressful day of potions with Zuko, Jee and the Slytherins, Katara was glad that she could end her day with a cup of tea amongst friends.

Sokka stopped and pointed at a small hut made of rock and wood. “There’s our destination.”

Kuie was right about Iroh living on the edge of the forbidden forest. Katara was sure she could see a few pairs of glowing eyes from the darkness of the forest as they approached Iroh’s porch.

She tried not to think about it as she knocked on the thick wood on his door.

“One moment!” A few scuffles could be heard in the hut, before the door swung open to reveal a smiling Iroh. “Miss Katara, hello!”

“Hello Iroh, I brought a few friends, if that’s all right.” She motioned behind her to Sokka, Toph and Aang.

“The more the merrier!” He opened the door wide to allow the children into his house. “I just put on a pot of tea.”

The children piled inside Iroh’s hut, which was more like one big room.

He had a cot in one corner, pots hanging from the ceiling with a small stove in another, and a large table in the center of the room that took up most of the space.

The children took a seat at the table. Iroh came around with a large pot of tea. “Now I am already familiar with Sokka here. Could this young man be one of Gyatso’s boys?”

Aang looked at Iroh in wonder. “How did you know?”

Iroh laughed at the boy. “I’ve only met one man that was a monk, a wizard, and still alive. It will be nice to have a pupil of his teaching at our school.”

Aang nodded energetically, his chest puffed out proudly. Iroh smiled at the boy before turning toward Toph. “And could this young lady be Miss Toph Beifong?”

Much like Aang, Toph looked at the old man in shock. “You know who I am?”

“Oh yes!” Iroh’s nodded his head. “You look so much like your father, I would be a fool not to notice. Plus, your father always had the best tea recommendation. How is he?"

Toph went a little pink at Iroh’s word. It seems the Hufflepuff was rarely told she favored her father.

For Iroh’s question, the Toph shrugged as she sipped her tea. “I dunno. He was pretty frazzled before I left. Ya’know because of the whole Gringotts break in the night before the train took off.”

“That’s right, I almost forgot about that.” Iroh’s response was nonchalant, as he took a sudden interest in whatever was in the stove.

In fact, his response was _too_ nonchalant.

“Yeah... ” Sokka dragged the word out in that dramatic way he liked to do when he found something suspicious. “It was the same day we all went to Gringotts. Good thing you got your package.”

“Yes, good thing.” Iroh turned around from the stove, all smiles as he sat a dish of Dumplings on the table. “Now enough talks about break ins. Let’s enjoy a few dumplings as you all tell me about your day.”

It was clear Iroh didn’t want to talk about the Gringotts break in or the mystery item he got out of vault 713. Katara could tell that Sokka wanted to keep asking questions, but her brother was never the type to make food his second priority, so he dropped the subject in lieu of stuffing his face.

This time, Katara couldn’t blame him. The dumplings looked delicious. She happily picked a dumpling off the plate and stuffed it into her mouth.

Then, she fought the urge to spit it out.

Katara didn’t know what Iroh put in his dumplings, but it felt like she’d bitten into straight fire. The dumplings was so hot, Katara was sure it burnt off every taste bud she had.

And Sokka and Toph weren’t doing much better.

Toph was chugging her tea to alleviate the burning. Katara wasn’t sure how much drinking hot tea would help, but it must’ve worked a little, because the HufflePuff poured herself a second glass.

Sokka, on the other hand, was pretending like he was unaffected by dumpling, even going so far as to reach for another one. Katara could see the sweat gathering at his hairline.

Only Aang remained unaffected, having declined due to his vegetarian diet. Katara was envious.

Luckily, Iroh was too deep in discussion with Aang to notice their discomfort and by the time Iroh asked about her day, most of the burning had subsided.

Katara gave him little snippets of her week. As different as the school was from her life back home, she was surprised how many good things she had to say about her classes. Or at least she did, until she reached the topic of potions class.

Katara groaned. “Ugh I had potions all day today and it was the worst. Jee hates me for so unknown reason and I lost points for Gryffindor.”

Iroh hummed sympathetically. “Yes, Jee can be a… hard teacher.”

Katara chuckled at Iroh’s polite language. “Hard is an understatement. Maybe he wouldn’t have been so bad If I didn’t get paired with Zuko.”

“Zuko?” Iroh wrinkled his brow, confused by her words. “Zuko Kasai is in your beginners potions class?”

“Yeah.” Katara said it slow, afraid she’d said something to upset the giant. “He was really mad about it, flaming and everything. Jee didn’t seem too concerned.”

“I imagine not.” Iroh looked worriedly out the window. “I received a letter from the headmaster before you children came. Apparently, a poor chair was charred beyond repair, though Roku assured me that the situation was… diffused.”

Katara followed Iroh’s worried gaze to the castle, his concern bleeding into her. If Zuko was anything like he’d been in class, she was sure the whole school would go up in flames.

Iroh cut their visit short after hearing about Zuko, but he made sure to send them back with a container full of dumplings. Katara knew she could never eat the little dumplings of fire, but she was too polite to refuse.

After leaving the hut, when Katara was sure they were far enough away to keep the giant from hearing, she commented on their sudden departure. “That was weird. I didn’t expect Iroh would get that frazzled over Zuko.”

Sure the prince had a group of fangirls that followed him around, but she didn’t expect his celebrity to bleed into the Hogwarts staff.

Sokka waved her off. “Zuko’s always doing the exploding fire thing, so he’s always in detention with Iroh. I bet the old man was just trying to figure out when he’s getting stuck with prince hotpants. What was more interesting was how fast he changed the topic from Gringotts.”

Toph nodded. “Yeah he’s definitely hiding something. You said he was at Gringotts that day?”

“Yeah.” Katara cut in. “Sokka and I needed a guardian to take us down to the vaults and Iroh volunteered. While we were down there, he went to this super secret vault and got something out.”

“Do you know what it is?” Even Aang seemed interested in the mysterious package now.

Sokka shook his head. “No, he acted really weird when Katara asked him about it, started speaking in riddles and stuff. But he said the Headmaster personally asked him to get it and then there’s a bank robbery that same day? Kinda suspicious.”

Aang swallowed nervously at Sokka’s reasoning. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

Maybe it was just a coincidence and Sokka was just looking too close into things, but Katara’s gut was telling her that her brother was right.

Whatever those wizards were trying to steal from Gringotts, Iroh got to it first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Again, I'm in my last semester of school. There's only like 3 weeks left, so I should be back to a regular schedule after that. 
> 
> Wow this was a long chapter! I thought about breaking it up into 2, but I wanted to get to next chapter really badly lol. Nothing too exciting this chapter, just most of the teachers. Also, if it wasn't obvious Shangren is the Cabbage merchant. Shangren is kinda how merchant is spelled in Chinese, so I thought it was cute. 
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 8: The Challenge 
> 
> The first thing she noticed was that they weren’t in a classroom like she expected, but a chamber about the size of the dining hall. 
> 
> The second thing she noticed was a massive ball of fur that filled up every nook and cranny, from floor to ceiling.


	8. The Challenge Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 8! Sorry for the short hiatus, but I've officially graduated with my bachelors! I want to give a huge thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. She worked through her finals to help edit this monster. I love you girl!!!
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 8 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Three weeks into school and Katara was sure she hated Azula.

They only shared potions class, but she still managed to get under Katara’s skin like no other. Azula was always talking down on everyone and making snide remarks, like she was all that high and mighty. The only thing more annoying was Jee’s selective hearing.

You couldn’t turn a page without the potion master noticing, but he never hears when the princess is loudly proclaiming her superiority.

Typical Slytherin behavior.

This is why Katara knew it had to be a gift from Tui and La when she walked into the common room and saw those big, bold letters on the notice board.

_Flying lessons at noon- Gryffindor and Ravenclaw._

She almost cried tears of joy. Not being placed in another class with those insufferable snakes was a blessing.

Not to say she looked forward to broom riding. Katara’s ridden Sokka’s broom enough times to know that it wasn’t a very comfortable sport, and she always got grass in her hair.

The only difference from her impromptu broom lessons at home from the ones at Hogwarts would be learning under the tutelage of Master Joung Joung and not her brother.  

Joung Joung turned out to be a grouchy old man, who talked openly about his distaste of the houses and snapped at anything breathing. It was his unbiased treatment of the houses that made him an excellent flying instructor and the school’s quidditch referee.

He was a hard teacher too. The old man taught flying lessons, like everyone had aspirations to become great quidditch players. By the time Katara’s lesson was over, she had a bruised tailbone and enough grass in her hair to cover a small field.

So, she felt a little stiff on her way to her dorm and it took her nearly an hour to remove all the grass from her hair, but she still counted the day as a good one.

It was an Azula free day, after all.  

With her hair freshly washed, Katara dropped her grass stained clothes off at the laundry. Her first few days at Hogwarts, Katara felt uncomfortable leaving her clothes for someone else to tend to because she’s always done them herself, including GranGran’s and Sokka’s.

Now, she hardly complained.

Katara didn’t know how they did it, but whenever she dropped her clothes off at the laundry, they always came back, folded and fresh on her bed. And she couldn’t lie, it was nice to have the extra time to study without worrying if her and her brother had clean clothes or not.

But cleaning wasn’t the only chore Hogwarts freed her from. Cooking was another big one.

Katara was never particularly good at cooking, but she learned enough from GranGran to make a decent meal. At Hogwarts, it didn’t matter if her culinary skills were lacking, because every meal was provided.

In fact, she was headed down to the dining hall to have one of those delicious meals, when someone called out to her.

“Sugar Queen!”

Katara grimmanced at the familiar nickname. For whatever reason, Toph seemed determined to give everyone in their little group a nickname. Aang was Twinkle Toes, Sokka was Snoozles and somehow, Katara got stuck with Sugar Queen.

Even more annoying than the nickname, was Toph refusing to tell her _why_ she chose Sugar Queen.

Katara turned around, and sure enough, she could see her blind friend making her way down the hallway. Toph had mud on the bottom of her robes and a few blades of grass in her hair, that let Katara know she’d just got out of her flying lessons.

The Hufflepuffs weren't as lucky as the other two houses. They were paired with Slytherin.

Katara stopped walking so the the girl could catch up to her. “Hey, Toph! How was flying-”

Before she could finish her sentence, the Hufflepuff snatched her by the arm and commenced to dragging Katara in the opposite direction of the dining hall.

Katara sputtered at the sudden rough housing. “Toph! Where are you taking me-”

“Its Aang.” Toph’s words slashed through hers like a knife. Katara felt her brow scrunch in confusion.  

She hurried her steps to catch up to the Hufflepuff. “Aang? What’s happened to him? Was he hurt?”

Toph was shaking her head the moment her question was out. “Aang’s not hurt. He’s in _trouble_ , like expulsion level trouble.”

“What?” Katara stared at the back of Toph’s head not quite believing the girl. Aang wasn’t the type to get into ‘expulsion level’ trouble. “What happened?”

“Where to start? Well, you know how we had to share flying lesson with the Slytherins?” Toph wrinkled her nose in disgust and Katara hummed in agreement.

No one liked Slytherin.

Toph continued. “It was fine at first. We got on the field and before we could so much as breathe, Joung Joung was telling us to mount our brooms and wait until his count to kick off.”

Then Toph gave a huff of air that was between a sigh and a chuckle. “Before Professor JJ could finish counting Kuie, the idiot, got scared and kicked off too early.”

Katara could practically see the scrawny lad shooting through the air, his glasses going even more askew. She hummed. “Poor Kuie.”

Toph rolled her eyes. “More like idiot. Anyway, Joung Joung starts yelling for him to come down, but Kuie’s too scared. In the end, he freaks out and falls from the broom. I don’t know how high he was, but if the sound of his fall was anything to go by, it was pretty high.”

Katara cringed at the thought. “Is he all right?”

Toph waved her off. “Yeah, he’s fine. Only broke his arm, but Joung Joung still had to take him to the medical wing. He left us with specific instructions not to touch the brooms, or we’d be on a one way ticket back home. Can you guess where Twinkle Toes comes in?”

Katara could feel her stomach drop to her toes as the pieces started to fit together. “Aang got on his broom, didn’t he?”

Toph nodded. “Kuie dropped his rememberball when he fell. After him and JJ left, Azula found it in the grass. She started playing with it, pretending like she was gonna smash the thing, while all the other snakes laughed along.”

Katara could see Toph clenching her tiny fist in anger. “I was about to give her a piece of my mind, when Aang suddenly stepped forward demanding that Azula give it back.”

Katara could already imagine how Azula reacted. “I’m guessing the princess didn’t take it well?”

Toph snorted. “You can say that again. She jumps on one of the brooms and flies into the air, all while daring Aang to snatch the remembrall from her hand.”

Katara grimaced. “This is when he gets on the broom, isn’t it?”

Toph nodded. “Yeah it is. He surprised all of us when he did. I couldn’t see what was going on, but Ming said even Azula looked shocked when Aang came flying toward her. Even more than that, Ming said Aang was _good_. Said he was whizzing through the air like a pro.”

Toph got a wistful look on her face. “I wish I could’ve seen Azula’s face when she saw Aang coming. Ming said Azula was trying her best to get away from him. Said she started going higher and higher into the sky until she was at least 20 feet in the air. When Aang was almost to her, she dropped the remembrall to the ground.”

“What?” Katara dung her heels into the ground so Toph could no longer pull her about, as she demanded the Hufflepuff’s full attention. “She dropped the remembrall 20 feet in the air? What happened to it?”

“Nothing. Aang caught it.”

“He caught it?” Katara stared at her friend for a moment, trying to imagine Aang diving 20 feet in the air to catch a ball small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.  

“It’s crazy right?” Toph was giving her a wicked smile. “I couldn’t believe it either, but I never heard it hit the ground so it has to be true.”

As she recalled the rest of the story, Katara watched Toph’s excitement dwindled to something bitter. “Too bad Yugoda saw him. She ran over screaming about how Aang could’ve gotten himself killed. We tried to tell her that Azula was the one to blame, but she wouldn’t even listen to us. The old bat snatched Aang up and I haven’t seen him since.”

Katara’s brow creased. “If you haven’t seen him since class, where are we going?”

“To the Headmaster’s office,” Toph sent her a smirk as they continued their trek. “Unlike you losers, I haven’t spent the last week getting lost for nothing. I’ve been learning my way around and if Aang is getting expelled, he’ll be in Roku’s office.”

Toph made a sharp turn to the right as she pulled Katara down a new hallway, that she didn’t recognized. The Hufflepuff led her down the hall, until they came upon a tall black door with the word ‘Headmaster’ written in gold letters.

Katara was about to ask Toph how she knew where the Headmaster’s office was, when the black door suddenly opened, revealing Doctor Yugoda and Professor Wu as they exited the room.

Yugoda stuck her hand out to Professor Wu. “Are we even now, Wu?”

Wu shook the offered hand easily. “Of course, Yugoda. The Christmas party of 89’ will never be mentioned again. It’s practically erased from my memory.”

Yugoda looked oddly relieved, until she spotted Toph and Katara next to the door. Suddenly, her face grew stern and a little red bloomed around her cheeks. “What are you two doing here?”

Both of the students stood there awkwardly. They hadn’t planned on what they would do when they found Aang, and Katara had no idea if they were allowed in this area. She glanced at Toph for help, but she looked just as stuck as Katara.

Yugoda was starting to tap her foot impatiently, so Katara decided that the truth would have to do. “We’re here to see Aang, ma’am. If we can...”

The old woman ran her eyes over the two kids warrily, before nodding her head once. “Very well.” She re-entered the Headmaster’s office, returning a moment later with a slightly pale Aang.

When he was out the office, Wu clapped the Hufflepuff on the back. “Remember what we talked about Aang. Don’t make us feel like we’ve made a mistake.” Wu gave Aang a look that made the boy swallow, hard. That must’ve been the correct response because the two teachers made their way down the hall, leaving the trio alone.

With the teachers gone, Katara immediately hugged her bald friend. “Aang! We thought you were getting expelled. Toph told me what happened.”

When Katara pulled away, she noticed that Aang was a little pink around the ears. He started rubbing the back of his neck, while avoiding her eyes. “I thought so too- Ow!”

Aang rubbed his arm where Toph just punched him. He glared at his fellow Hufflepuff. “What was that for?”

Toph just shrugged as she guided them away from the Headmaster’s office. “For being an idiot, but you already knew that. What I’m trying to figure out is how you aren’t getting expelled. I just knew you were a goner when the old bat snatch you away.”

Suddenly, Aang grabbed both of the girls, stopping them in their tracks.

Then, the monk looked over both his shoulders, before turning back to the girls with a hushed whisper. “Professor Wu said I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but I’m sure I can tell you guys if you promise to keep it a secret.”

Both Katara and Toph moved closer to the monk in interest, and Aang took a deep breath before releasing everything in a rush of words. “I’monthequidditchteam!”

“What?” Katara hadn’t heard a single word of what he said, but Toph must of understood because her eyes got big and she punched Aang in the arm again.

“Ow!”

“No way!” Toph had a look of pure disbelief on her face. “First years are never allowed on the quidditch team! Roku said so the night of the banquet.”

Katara wondered if that was one of the announcements she tuned out that night.

“I know!” Aang bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement. “Yugoda saw me and knew that the Hufflepuffs needed a seeker. She told Professor Wu that I was a natural. We went to Roku to get special permission to join the team and now I start practice next week!”

Katara couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Only Aang could do something expulsion worthy and get rewarded with an opportunity that many first years would kill for. Heck, even Sokka would kill to finally make it on the quidditch team.

Especially because her brother failed to get on the Ravenclaw team again this year.

With Aang’s excited chatter and Toph’s mysterious guiding powers, the trio made it to the dining hall. The sudden smell of food reminded Katara what she’d been trying to do before Toph pulled her off to go find Aang.

Now that the monk was safe, she couldn’t wait to sit down and have a decent meal to cap off her Slytherin free day.

Unfortunately, her day was ruined when she saw Azula’s smug face. The princess stood right in front of their small group, accompanied by her permanent side fixtures, Mai and Ty Lee.  

Azula looked Aang up and down. “Wasn’t expecting for you to still be here. Are they letting you get one last meal before they send you back home to eat sticks and berries?”

Aang didn’t respond to Azula’s bait, ignoring the Slytherin as he continued to the table. Katara admired the monk’s ability to disengage with Azula. She wished she had the same strength, but Katara couldn’t ignore the way Azula wiped the smile from Aang’s face.

The words were bubbling out her mouth before Katara could stop them. “How about you lay off, Azula.”

Azula turned her attention to Katara, but the Gryffindor didn’t wilt under Azula’s gaze. She met it head on, just like the day at the wand shop.

The princess looked at her with interest. “Feeling feisty today, aren’t we?”

“I’m just sick of the way you walk around here like you’re the queen of this school or something.” Katara could feel herself seething as she spoke the words on her chest for the last two weeks. “You’re not better than anyone here because you’re a pure-blood or your daddy’s the Minister.”

Azula gave a low hum before offering her a sharp smile. “How about an Agni Kai, then.”

Katara blinked dumbly as she tried to remember what an Agni Kai was. The name wasn’t ringing a bell from any of her classes.

When Katara failed to respond, Toph did it for her. “You’re on princess! She’s there and I’ll be her second!”

“Perfect.” Azula’s smile got sharper somehow, making her delicate features morph into something dangerous. “Meet me in the trophy room at midnight.”

“Not so fast!” Toph stopped the princess before she could leave. “What about your second?”

Azula shrugged her shoulders lazily. “I’m sure I won’t need one, but if it makes you feel better. Mai, will you be my second?”

“Of course.” The monotone voice replied without a moment of hesitation.

“Great. See you tonight.” With those parting words, Azula and her crew left the dining hall.

Katara let them leave before turning to Toph. “Um, this maybe a little late, but what’s an Agni Kai?”

Toph shrugged as they finally sat at the Hufflepuff table. “It’s a magic battle to the death.”

Katara nearly dropped the plate she just picked up. “Magic fight _to the death_!”

Toph waved off her concern as she sniffed the cup in front of her. “Relax Sugar Queen. No one fights to the death anymore. Besides, neither you nor Azula know enough magic to do any serious damage. You’ll probably just end up sending sparks at each other.”

Toph’s logic made her feel a little better. If Katara’s classes taught her anything, it's that all of the students, muggle-born or pure-blood, were pretty much on the same level of skill.

That level was zero.

“Well I don’t like this.” Aang finally spoke for the first time since Azula arrived. “It’s against school rules, and even if it wasn’t, it’s not right.”

“I knew you would say that, Twinkle Toes.” Toph finally decided that she wanted the offered drink, taking a big gulp from the cup. “That’s why you’re not invited.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for the short hiatus, but that last bit of college had me super busy. Now that I've graduated I should be back to regular uploads! 
> 
> I don't want to add any commentary, because this chapter is actually a two parter. It was getting really long so I broke it into two. The second part will be uploaded this Friday, so be ready! Also, can you believe we are nearly halfway through the first arch! I really want to thank everyone for their kind words (y'all literally have me crying). I'm really enjoying writing this fic and I hope you guys still love to read it.
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 9: The Challenge Part 2


	9. The Challenge Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 9! Huge thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. I love you girl!!!
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 9 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Katara went about her night routine as normal.

She did her potions homework, took a shower and braided her hair in a simple plait to keep it out her face. She even read a few chapters of her History of Magic textbook.

All of that and it was barely 10 o'clock.

Katara groaned as she threw herself onto her bed. She still had two hours until her Agni Kai with Azula. Katara huffed before moving to her desk. She would write a quick letter to GranGran while she waited.

She updated GranGran about her studies and her escapades at school. When Katara got to today’s events, she debated whether or not she should tell her grandmother about her Agni Kai. After a few moments of deliberation, Katara decided not to.

GranGran didn’t need to worry about her ‘not really’ duel to the death.

Katara finished the letter just as 11:30 hit, placing it on top of her homework for tomorrow as a reminder to give it to Hawky the next day. Satisfied, she put on her housecoat, snuck through the commons room and out the painting of the Fat Lady.

She didn’t know her way to the trophy room, but Toph did. For a blind girl, Toph knew her way around better than most of the students at Hogwarts.

The Gryffindor statue was their rendezvous spot, and Katara easily found her way to the familiar statue. When she got there, she hid near its base, just in case Shangren was patrolling the hallways.

A few minutes passed as Katara waited by the statue without any sign of Toph. After 10 minutes passed, she started to fear that Toph wasn’t coming.

At 15 minutes, Katara was just about to give up on the Agni Kai and head back to her dorm, when she heard a whisper down the hall.

“Sugar queen, are you there?” Katara perked up as she heard the familiar voice of her friend.

She moved from behind the statue, just as Toph rounded the corner. Katara smiled at the girl. “There you are! I thought you forgot about me.”

“Yeah about that.” Toph jerked her head to the left, Katara followed the motion to the last person she expected to see.

“Aang?” She stared at the monk in confusion, as he stood next to Toph in his night robes. “What are _you_ doing here?”  

Toph gave an annoyed huff that made her bangs flap in the air. “Ghandi here is still trying to stop our duel.”

Katara pursed her lips in annoyance. She turned toward Aang. “Really, Aang?”

Aang nodded, something akin to disappointment burning in his big, grey eyes. “You shouldn’t fight Auzla. It’s not right.”

Katara put her hands on her hip, like she always did before she got into an argument with Sokka. “Not right? It wasn’t right for Azula to steal Kuie’s remembrall and almost get you expelled.”

Aang was shaking his head before she even finished. “Fighting only creates more violence. This duel won’t solve anything. All we need to do is ignore her.”

Maybe Aang was right to step away and not give Azula the attention she wanted, but Katara didn’t come to Hogwarts to let bullies go unchecked.

She turned away from the monk. “If that was all you had to say, you can go back to your dorm. I’m going to fight Azula, whether you like it or not.”

The words hung heavy in the air for a few seconds, before Aang gave an awkward cough. “Um, I can’t really go back. I have no idea where I am... I was kind of hoping I could convince you two not to duel, then Toph could guide me back to the dorms...”

His words petered out lamely, and both Katara and Toph smacked their foreheads in disbelief. Katara looked at Toph to see if the girl could guide him back.

As if sensing the Gryffindor’s gaze, Toph shook her head. “We don’t have enough time to drop him off and make it to the trophy room. Twinkle Toes is just going to have to join us.”

Katara huffed. “Fine. Aang, either come with us or find your own way back. Toph, lead the way.”

Toph nodded before leading her in the direction of the trophy room. Aang looked reluctant to come along on their adventure, but without much choice, he followed along.

The trio made their way down the different halls of Hogwarts, and Katara couldn't help but notice how everything seemed different at night. The whimsical architecture looked haunted in the light of the moon.  

Aang swallowed nervously. “Everything is so much creepier at night.” Katara hummed in agreement.

“Really?” Toph’s voice raised in disbelief, “Looks about the same to me.”

Neither of them complained about the hallways after that.

They continued to walk in silence, until Toph stuck out an arm to stop them. “We’re here." She pointed to a room Katara vaguely remembers passing on her way to the dining hall.

The room housed every metal trophy in the school, every wall covered in different awards. There were medals as small as the palm of her hand and trophies the size of Iroh.

Katara and Toph brandished their wands as they approached the room, prepared for any tricks Azula might pull, but to their surprise the room was empty.

Azula and Mai were nowhere to be seen.

“They’re not here.” Katara knew she was stating the obvious, but she didn’t know what else to do.

She never expected them _not_ to show.  

"Maybe Azula realized how crazy sneaking out to have a Agni Kai was and stayed in bed." Aang looked around the dark trophy room apprehensively. “Maybe we should do the same.” 

Katara ignored Aang as she tried to rationalize the princess' absence. “Maybe they’re just late.”

Aang gave an annoyed huff, “Come on Katara, just admit this was a bad idea-”

“Wait, shut it for a moment.” Toph held up a hand to shush them. “I think I hear something.”

Katara and Aang immediately quieted as they listen for any noise. The room sounded completely silent to Katara, but Toph must’ve picked up on something because she suddenly turned around and pointed at a bookcase.

Toph then commensed to yelling at the bookshelf. “I know someone is there! Show yourself or I scream loud enough to wake the whole castle!”

For a second, Katara thought Toph might have lost her mind, until the bookshelf sighed and Zuko walked from behind it, clad in only his pajamas.

His hair free from its usual topknot.

Zuko glared at Toph, “I’m sure you’ve already woken up the entire school. Can you be any louder?”

Toph dug in her ear lazily, “I’d be happy to test.”

“No, thanks.”

At the sight of the prince Katara brandished her wand again, narrowing her eyes at Zuko. “What are you doing here? Did Azula send you?”

“Azula?” Zuko was looking at her like she’d grown a third head. “Why would Azula ask me to be here? I heard someone coming, so I hid.”

“Huh,” Toph starred in the general direction of the prince. “He’s not lying.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m not, but thanks for the confirmation.”

“I don’t believe you.” Katara doesn’t know what type of lie detector Toph had, but she didn’t trust it. “What are the odds that you were out past curfew in the same location Azula and I were suppose to meet for out duel? Why are you _really_ here?”

Zuko narrowed his eyes at Katara. “I think the real question is, why are you and Azula dueling? Was this your dumb idea?”

Katara sputtered at the accusation, forgetting that she was supposed to be threatening him with her wand. “What, no! Azula’s the one who challenged me!”

“Yeah!” Toph immediately jumping to her aid. “And now Azula’s the one too chicken to show-”

“Azula always lies.” Zuko cut Toph off before she could even finish her sentence. Then he repeated the phrase, punctuating each word as he said it. “Azula. Always. Lies. If she’s not here it’s because she never planned to be.”

Katara looked at Zuko in confusion. “What do you mean-”

“Meoowwww!”

Everyone froze at the familiar purring and the distant sound of Shangren’s voice. “Do you hear them Miss Cabbages? Lead me to them.”

Zuko cursed under his breath. Katara watched as his good eye flitted around the room, looking for a hiding spot, before abandoning the idea all together and making a mad dash for the exit.

Unsure of what to do, Katara grabbed Toph by her arm and ran after the third year. She had no idea where they were going, but she trusted Zuko not to get caught. Katara just hoped Aang was following after her, because all her focus was on keeping up with the Prince.

Zuko was taking them down so many twist and turns that she could barely follow the long legged teen.

They ran for what felt like an eternity before Zuko finally stopped. When he did, Katara all but collapsed on the ground. She glared at the prince, irritated that he was barely winded. “Could you slow down? I can barely keep up.”

Zuko glared right back at her. “You weren’t supposed to.”

Katara rolled her eyes at the prince, but reframed from snapping back. Whether he was trying to help them or not, he still did. If he weren't there they would be with Shangren right now.

So, Katara waited until her irritation cooled a bit, before addressing the prince again. “Azula tipped Shangren off to our location, didn't she?” She didn’t know why she was asking Zuko this, except that she was his sister.

“Azula always lies.”  This time when the prince spoke the words, they came out much softer than the first.

Unfamiliar to the gentle rasp of his voice, Katara had to look at the prince to make sure the words really came from him. They caught each other’s eye for a brief moment, before Zuko turned away.

Just then, Katara thought his eyes looked kind of bright in the dark hallway.

“Uh, guys?” Aang’s timid voice broke her from her thoughts. “I think we have another problem.”

Aang was pointing at a silver figure, phasing through the wall.

Zuko groaned, sparks of fire escaping his mouth. “Not the damned monkey.”

Sure enough, the Monkey Phantom was phasing through the hallway. He looked to be in a relatively good mood, but he wouldn’t be if saw them. His midnight strolls were sacred.

They pressed themselves into the wall, praying the Monkey would overlook them. Unfortunately, this was the moment Aang decided to sneeze.

Zuko looked like he was ready to roast the monk alive.

The Monkey looked at the group with barely contained annoyance. “What are you first years doing out past curfew!”

Zuko immediately shushed the Monkey. “Quiet, you’ll get us caught.”

The Monkey looked at Zuko haughtily. “Oh excuse me, I didn’t know the prince was here too! Hello your Majesty!” the Monkey gave Zuko an overdramatic bow that was clearing ticking the prince off.

“For Agni’s sake, just go away!” That was the wrong thing for Zuko to say.

If ghost had color, Katara was sure the Monkey would be red in the face with how loud he was screaming. “I should go away? No, _you_ go away! Go away! Go away! Go away-”

The Monkey kept screaming his favorite phrase as they ran down the hallway.

Toph groaned, “Way to go Sparky.”

“Just keep running Hufflepuff.”

For the second time that night, they ran for their lives. Accept this time, Zuko didn't lead them to safety, but to the only dead end on the third floor.

There was nowhere to go, except a locked door and the hall they just came from, which was a one way ticket to Shangren.

Aang tried to open the locked door, but it wouldn’t budge. Frustrated, the Hufflepuff nearly fell into full on hysterics. “This is just great! I escape expulsion one time today, only to get caught roaming the halls after hours! I should’ve just stayed in the dorm-”

“Calm down, baldie.” Zuko pushed Aang away from the door as he brandished his wand. “Alohomora!”

To their relief the door flung itself open, but they didn’t waste time in celebrating. Instead, everyone piled into the now open room and shut the door, just as Shangren and the Monkey turned down the hall.

Zuko placed his ear to the door, quietly listening. After a moment of silence his shoulders relaxed. “We should be good in here. Shangren still thinks the door is locked and the Monkey isn’t being cooperative.”

They just had to wait until the coast was clear, then they could leave.

“Um, Katara.” She could hear Aang whisper her name, but she ignored him. She wasn’t too happy with the monk right now.

He was acting like _she_ was the one who forced him out of his bed.

“Katara.”

Katara huffed. “Aang, I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

The monk went quiet, but he went from calling her name, to persistently pulling her sleeve. She swatted him away. “Aang I’m serious. I don’t want to talk.”

When the tugging continued, Katara turned around with every intention of telling Aang off, only to freeze in place.

They weren’t in a classroom like she expected, but a chamber about the size of the dining hall. And in the center of the chamber, was a massive ball of fur that filled up every nook and cranny, from floor to ceiling.

On top of that mangy fur, sat three massive heads with large yellow teeth, plenty of drool, and three sets of red beady eyes looking directly at them.

Katara nearly tripped over Zuko in her haste to open the door.

If she had to choose between getting eaten by a three headed dog or getting caught by Shangren, she’d choose expulsion any day.

The door burst open with enough force to hit the wall beside it. They all tumbled through the door and scurried along the floor, putting as much distance between them and the three headed animal.

When Katara fell, she landed right at the threshold. She tried to move further from the door, to follow her friends, but something was holding her back.

She couldn’t move.

“I c-can’t move!” Katara struggled to move away from the door, but nothing helped. She looked to her friends for help, but Aang and Toph just sat on the floor, staring at her with big panicked eyes.

They looked like two Hufflepuff statues and it would’ve been comical, if her life weren’t in danger.

“Calm down. Breathe.” Katara hadn’t realized that she’d stopped breathing until the familiar voice commanded she did. When she took a few mouthfuls of air, she felt a little less panicked and more aware that it was the prince staring back at her.

Zuko gave her a tight smile, his words coming out clipped. “Good. I need you to stay calm okay? I’ll get you out.”

He held her gaze for a moment, until she nodded. He returned the gesture, before focusing on the problem at hand. He tugged her pants leg. “Its stuck on the threshold-” 

 Suddenly, a low growl echoed from behind and both of them froze. Then, the weight of Zuko's hand left her ankle.

For a moment, Katara thought he abandoned her for safer ground, until she felt an arm wrap around her middle and pull her into a hug.

“Breathe.” Zuko was still there. He was holding her now, taking deep breaths that she was meant to mimic. She tried to breathe the best she could, focusing on Zuko's raspy voice instead of the murderous dog. “I need you to breathe. I said I’d save you, and I will, but if you pass out I don’t know if I can drag the both of us away from the killer mutt.”

He didn’t wait for her to nod this time before tugging her leg, with more force than before and just a hint of panic.

The growling continued, louder and closer with every second. Katara clung to the prince, pressing her face into the crease of his neck, until the only thing she could feel was the thrum of his blood.

Then, it happened.

Zuko gave one final tug, the pants leg ripped and they both tumbled free from the door frame. When they were fully out the way, Zuko kicked the door shut and reactivated the locking spell.

It was like they were never there.

For a moment, they all sat on the floor in disbelief. Katara holding Zuko in a vice grip, still too panicked to let go. She wasn’t trapped anymore, but she could still hear the growling of that… thing.

None of them knew how long they sat there, but Shangren never came back to find them.

Aang was the first to speak. “W-what was that thing? Why is something like that here?”

Toph shook her head, “Forget what it was. Did you see? It was sitting on something.”

“How would you know it was sitting on something?” Katara usually saved the insensitive questions for Sokka to ask, but Katara was too frazzled to care.

Nothing about Toph’s awareness or that thing made sense to her.

Toph huffed from her place on the ground. “It doesn’t matter how I saw it, something was there.”  

Surprisingly, it was Zuko that answered the Hufflepuff. “I saw it too. That three headed dog was sitting on a trapdoor.”

The prince stared at the now locked door, like it held the answers to the universe. “It was guarding something.”

\---

Counting their blessings, the gang decided that it would be best to head back to their dorms.

Aang and Toph were the first to go, making their way to the cellar. Before Zuko could leave for his own, Katara grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

She refused to meet the prince’s gaze, settling for his shoulder until she saw dark smudges on the fabric and realized she must’ve cried on him.

Hopefully the dark stains were just tears and not snot.

Even more embarrassed, Katara focussed on the floor as she addressed the prince. “I uh, wanted to thank you for saving me from that thing. I could’ve…”

She didn’t want to say what might of happened to her if he hadn’t been there, so she lamely petered out, dropping her hand from Zuko’s sleeve.

She’d clung to the prince enough to last a lifetime.

It was quiet for a moment before Zuko finally spoke. “It’s, uh, not a big deal.”

Katara looked up at his words. His face was tinted red in embarrassment. When she kept staring, he turned on his heels and started walking away from her. Except, he wasn’t walking in the direction of the lower floors, he was going up.

Katara frowned, before following after him. “Aren’t the Slytherin dorms down below?” She glanced at the flustered Slytherin as he started up a flight of stairs.

He suddenly stopped and looked at her, “Do you know your way back from here?”

It took Katara a moment to realize what he was asking her. Her face flamed red when she realized she didn’t know her way back to her dorm.

Sokka always walked her to and from charms class.

Zuko took her silence as a confirmation and continued up the stairs. Now, Katara was the embarrassed one, as she followed the third year.

They continued to walk in silence, Katara glancing at the prince periodically. He stood to her left, so she couldn’t see the blemished side of his face. She kind of wished she could. His features were so much softer, when his hair hung free around his face.

When she glanced at him for the 20th time, Zuko sighed. “What is it? Go ahead and ask, the staring is getting annoying.”

Katara went a little pink at being caught, but she wasn’t going to ask to see his face. So, she asked the other question that was on her mind. “What were you doing out past curfew?”

Zuko continued looking straight ahead as he turned down a different hallway. “Nothing.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t tell me.” She didn’t mean to sound like such a petulant child, but the words were already out and she couldn’t take them back.

They walked in silence for a little longer, before Zuko’s raspy voice filled the air. “I was meeting someone.”

Katara stared at the Slytherin with big eyes. “I knew it!”

“Shhh!” Zuko shushed her, motioning for her to lower her voice. “Keep it down.”

She lowered her voice to a stage whisper, “You were meeting up with a lady, weren’t you?”

Zuko blushed bright red, his ears slightly smoking. “What? No! Forget I said anything...”

Katara smiled wickedly at the third year. “Then why are you blushing? I must be close.”

Zuko suddenly stopped walking and Katara was afraid she pushed the prince too far. He must’ve sensed her unease, because he pointed down the hall. “We’re here.”

Katara followed his finger to the portrait of the Fat Lady, only a few steps away.

“Oh.” She was surprised with how disappointed she felt. It was almost like she was having fun teasing the prince. She gave him an awkward wave. “Well, thank you for walking me back to my dorm.”

Zuko nodded in return and as he walked away, she swore she saw a little smoke trailing from his ears.

When he was fully out of sight, Katara climbed through the tunnel of her house and made her way to her room. When she got to her dorm, she collapsed on her bed, still wearing her ripped pajama bottoms.

As she drifted off to sleep, she remembered the package Iroh got from the vault.

Suddenly, she got an idea of what could be under that trap door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked our first little Zutara moment ;-)
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 10: The Quidditch Match
> 
> Katara ran her eyes over each of the members. Immediately, she recognized Zuko’s best friend Suki at the front of the group, but besides Suki, no one else on the team looked familiar. Still, Katara looked at every one of the girls until she hit a rather tall one, in the back of the group. 
> 
> Katara’s brow pinched. Something seemed off about the girl. Her face appeared too square and her shoulders a little too broad. Yet, she felt familiar to Katara.


	10. Partners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 10! Huge thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. She's the best<3
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 10 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

If it weren’t for the ripped leg of her pajama bottoms, Katara might’ve thought the three-headed beast was simply a nightmare. 

The menacing red eyes and snarling yellow teeth a mere side effect of one to many cauldron cakes before bed. And yet, she couldn’t ignore the physical evidence that sat so plainly against her bedding. 

She debated whether or not to take her pants down to the laundry. If she did, Katara was sure they would come back mended and cleaned, just like they were when GranGran first made them. 

However, something about returning the pants to their original state made something in her twist uncomfortably. Something was stopping her. 

She ran a hand down the torn fabric, remembering the night all over again. 

_I need you to stay calm okay? I’ll get you out._

Katara felt her face flush red as she recalled the raspy words of the prince. 

She still couldn’t believe that last night happened, but just as the pants held the truth of the three headed dog, they were also proof that Zuko, despite being a Slytherin, saved her life.

The sound of the striking clock, pulled her from her musings. The eight rings of the bell informed her that she was late for breakfast. Katara stared at the pants a moment longer before stuffing them in the bottom of her trunk. 

She would deal with them later.

Katara grabbed her bag and ran out her dorm to meet Aang and Toph in the dining hall. She found them in their usual spot at the Hufflepuff table and the first thing she noticed was how exhausted they looked. 

Not that Katara could fault them. She hadn’t looked much better when she woke up this morning.

Still, Toph was falling asleep into her bowl of oatmeal and Aang was outright lying on the table. Katara laughed as she took her seat next to her bald friend. “Jeez, I thought I looked exhausted this morning.” 

Aang turned his head so that he was scowling at Katara as he laid down. He looked as scary as an irate puppy. “Remind me to never try to talk you out of anything. History of Magic is going to be torture and I have my first Quidditch practice today.”

“This is why you weren’t invited, Twinkle Toes. You can’t-” Toph paused to yawn into her bowl. “Hang with the big kids.” 

Aang pouted. “If hanging with the big kids mean going out past curfew and finding three headed dogs, you can count me out.” 

“Oh! Speaking of three headed dogs… ” Katara leaned closer to her friends and dropped her voice to a whisper, to keep from being overheard. “I was thinking about the trapdoor last night…  What if it’s related to Iroh’s mystery package from Gringotts?”

The seed of the idea was planted in her head the night before, but by the time she woke the following morning, it’d formed into a fully grown tree. Somehow, Katara couldn’t shake the thought that the two things were connected. 

The package was clearly important and the third corridor was the perfect place to hide it. 

Katara was sure it would only take one look at the giant three headed guard dog and any thief with even an ounce of self preservation would decide that whatever it was, it wasn’t worth getting eaten alive for.

She was excited to explain this to her friends, but she stopped herself when she noticed the alarmed look on Aang’s face. “Don’t tell me you want to go back to the third corridor? Even after that.. thing, almost… after you almost didn’t make it?”

As soon as he said, Katara was sure she could feel a breeze on her leg where the torn fabric sat earlier. A quick look at her stocking covered leg let her know it was all in her head. 

Katara looked back up from her leg to catch the monk looking at it too with a face full of guilt. Her brow creased in confusion as she reached out to comfort him. “Aang, are you okay?” 

“I’m sorry.” Aang looked at her with watery grey eyes. “I didn’t move to help you yesterday. If Zuko wasn’t there… ” 

“Oh, Aang," Katara patted the boy's shoulder sympathetically. "You don’t have to apologize-”

“No, Twinkle Toes is right.” Toph was glaring shamefully into her oatmeal. “We should’ve moved to help you last night, instead of sitting there like a couple of statues.”

“Guys it’s fine, really.” Katara tried to give her friends reassuring smiles. “I’m not mad at all. None of us were ready to face a giant three headed dog. We were all scared out our minds. I don't even know if I could've moved, were the roles reversed.” 

Katara could tell her words lessened some of their guilt with the way their shoulders relaxed, but she could also see that they hadn’t fully forgiven themselves, particular Aang. The monk still couldn't meet her eyes, choosing to pout at the table instead. 

“Zuko wasn’t scared.”

Katara blushed a little at the monks words, her mind going back to the ripped fleece of her pajamas. 

Toph nodded, shoving a spoon full of oatmeal in her mouth. “Yeah. Prince charming swung in and saved you like it was nothing. It was like a scene out of Sleeping Beauty. Except her prince slayed a dragon instead of a giant three headed dog… Just in case, you should keep away from any spindles, Sugar Queen.” 

Katara flushed at Toph’s teasing. Maybe she should've let the little twerp wallow in her guilt a little longer.

Katara opened her mouth, not quite sure if she wanted to stress the fact that Zuko was _not_ her prince or the fact that she didn’t _need_ one, but before she could, someone else spoke. 

“What is this about my sister, Prince Hotpants and a three headed dog?” 

Katara could feel the color drain from her face as she turned and saw Sokka, standing right behind her with his goofy smile plastered across his face. He was looking at her, like he was waiting for the punchline of a joke. 

The punch line was going to be her throwing up on his shoes, because Katara felt positively ill. 

She hadn’t planned on lying to her brother about her trip to the third corridor, but she hadn’t planned on telling him either. Some would say omission of the truth is still lying, but they didn’t know how overprotective Sokka could be. 

Slowly, Sokka’s smile slipped off his face as the trio continued to stare at the third year like three toddlers caught with their hands in the cookie jar.  

Sokka’s brow pinched in confusion. “Okay, I feel like I’m missing something. Someone needs to fess up.”

When her brother looked at her for answers, Katara pinched her lips together in silence. Sokka squinted his eyes at her, but she was too experienced with his antics to crack under pressure. 

They both knew it, which is why he turned his attention to Aang. 

It only took five seconds under Sokka’s stare before Aang was singing like a bird, telling Sokka everything: the riding lesson, the Agni Kai and the forbidden third corridor. All Katara could do was watch. 

There were only a few times in Katara’s life where she saw her brother truly angry. 

The last time she could recall was three years ago, when she threw his boomerang into a lake after a particular nasty argument. 

She knew it would be a bugger to fish out the water, which is precisely why she’d done it. Unfortunately, she hadn’t expected the water to ice over the very next day, trapping the wooden weapon in the water until the following spring. 

At the time, Katara thought Sokka could never be as mad as he was then. Now, she knew better.

“What were you thinking, Katara?” She cringed as Sokka yelled. A few Hufflepuffs looked to see what the commotion was about. Sokka waved the nosy students off before lowering his voice to a harsh whisper. “You could’ve been killed! What part of Roku’s speech about a slow and painful death didn’t you get?” 

Katara clenched her fist. Sokka was speaking to her like she was a petulant child. “I wasn’t _trying_ to find the third corridor, but I had to fight Azula! I won’t just stand around and-”

Sokka cut her off before she could finish. “And do what Katara? What did last night accomplish except almost get you three killed?” Katara looked away, feeling the burn of her brother’s disappointment. 

Sokka’s anger was somewhat familiar, his disappointment was new. 

When she didn’t answer his questions, Sokka sighed. “Katara i’m not trying to bash you, but you have to understand the severity of your situation. You would be dog food right now, if it wasn’t for _Prince Hotpants_ -”

“Zuko.” Katara corrected her brother without thinking. She didn’t know why she did it, except for the fact that she didn’t like the nickname. It was such a petty thing to get mad over, but Zuko saved her life. The least she could do was call him by his name. “Call him Zuko.”

Sokka stared at her for a while, before pointing an accusatory finger at her. “You’ve gotten attached to him, haven’t you? I told you to stay away from the Slytherins, specifically him! You promised!’

Katara glared at her brother. “I did _not_ break my promise and I am _not_ attached to Zuko. I’m just not going out of my way to be a jerk when he saved my life! Like you said, I would be dog food if he wasn’t there.”

As soon as the words were out her mouth, Toph and Aang looked down at the table guiltily and Katara winced. She made a mental note for later to reassure her friends that there were no hard feelings, but right now, Sokka was her main focus. 

Her brother shook his head warily. “That’s what I’m afraid of! The last thing you want is to be indebted to one of those snakes. I know you want to think the best of everyone, but remember what I told you?”

_Never friend a Slytherin._

The familiar words swirled around her mind, but this time Katara brushed them away. 

Sokka was just being overdramatic. She wasn’t attached to the prince and she definitely wasn’t interested in being his friend. However, neither of those facts negated the reality that Zuko saved her life. 

The ripped pants in her room were a testament to that. 

The striking clock rang nine times to indicate the hour and Katara used it as a distraction to gather her belongings. “I need to get to potions.”

But before she could leave, Sokka grabbed the sleeve of her robe. He spoke in their native tongue, so only she could hear. “Just… remember what I said, Katara. You’re my little sister and it's my job to make sure you’re alright. Trust that everything I do is for your safety.” 

Katara felt some of the anger ease out of her at his words. She let the thick words of her people fall off her tongue as she looked into blue eyes, much like her own. 

“I know, Sokka, but I need you to trust me, too.”

\---

 Katara wished she had a camera, so she could have captured the shock on Azula’s face when she entered potions, still attending Hogwarts. 

If she had any doubts that Azula was the one who sent Shangren on them yesterday, that look was all the confirmation she needed. 

“Have a seat Amaruq. I don’t like children standing in my doorway.” 

Katara was sure Jee didn’t like children at all, but she held her tongue. Instead, she gave the gravely man a stiff nod and turned toward her table, but she found herself faltering when she noticed Zuko already seated. 

Staring at him now, Zuko looked the exact same as he did every day since she’d met him.

His hair was back in it’s usual topknot and his green tie was fastened at the base of his neck, complimenting his pressed white shirt and heavy black robes. He looked the same, but she was still surprised. 

Maybe because the stoic figure that sat before her now, looked so different from the wild haired, pajama clad teen who saved her the night before. There wasn’t a single sign that Zuko was the same boy from yesterday. 

He even looked well rested, like he hadn’t been up just as late as them.  

“If I repeat myself again, Amaruq, I’m taking five points from Gryffindor.”

Not wanting to take anymore points from her house than she usually did, Katara hurriedly took her seat to Zuko’s left. Usually, this is when the prince would turn and glare at her for simply existing, but this time, he didn’t even glance in her direction. 

He just sat there, facing forward. 

Katara frowned as she pulled out her parchment and quill, occasionally glancing at the boy to her right. She was glad that he was no longer glaring at her, she hadn’t missed the animosity, but something about the way he was acting was getting under her skin. 

When Jee began to lecture, Katara was surprised to see Zuko diligently taking notes. He was so engrossed in the lecture that he hardly looked anywhere but the board and his paper. 

The studious behavior was just so… weird. 

Sure, Zuko always paid attention in class, but she’d never seen him watch Jee with such rapture. Usually he was drawing scribbles in the margin of his paper, with the occasional note. Most of the potions they did were too easy for a third year and Katara couldn’t imagine this one being any different. 

The more she watched him, the more it was starting to look like Zuko was _pretending_ to be preoccupied with the lesson. 

It was almost like he was ignoring her.

Katara shook the idea from her head and started on her own notes. Maybe she was just overthinking everything. Maybe Zuko really didn’t know this potion. 

For the second half of potions, Jee instructed the class to work in pairs to complete the potion.  Without a single word, Zuko busied himself with the cauldron’s temperatures and liquids needed, without even _consulting_ her. 

She no longer had to worry if the prince _might_ be ignoring her, because now Katara _knew_ he was. Even when he hated her guts, Zuko always discussed the potion with her, even if it was just to make sure she didn’t blow them up. 

Katara couldn’t decide if she was more upset that he was ignoring her or the fact that it stung. 

Annoyed, she turned away from the prince in a huff. If he wanted to pretend that yesterday never happened and never speak again, she could easily grant him that. 

Equally ignoring her partner, Katara decided to ready the solid materials for the potion, taking on the task of crushing the tigerseal teeth into a fine powder.

It seemed like an easy enough task. 

However, five minutes of working with the mortar and pestle and she’d only accomplished a chucky crumble and a sore arm. Katara glared at the tigerseal teeth as she shook the stiffness out her arm.

It would have to do. 

She lifted the mortar to the cauldron, ready to add the crumble, but a hand to her wrist stopped her. 

Zuko held her wrist, and for the first time that day, he looked her in the eyes. She expected the heated glare that she’d become accustomed to, but instead was met with the same soft, gold eyes from the night before.

A glimpse of the boy that saved her from the third corridor. 

But he only held her gaze for a moment before averting his eyes. “You need to crush the teeth into a fine powder or the teeth will not properly mix into the potion.” 

Katara huffed at the prince. “Decided to stop ignoring me?”

“I’m not ignoring you.” Zuko tried to glare at her, but glaring is nearly impossible when you refuse to make eye contact. 

Katara rolled her own at the Slytherin, but didn’t push it further. Instead, she gestured to the wrist he still held captive. “You can let go of my hand now. I promise I won’t add anything to the potion.” 

Zuko blushed a light pink and dropped her hand like it was on fire. 

Embarrassed, he made to rub his hand through his bangs, before seemingly remembering that his hair was up. Katara watched, a little amused, as Zuko awkwardly dropped his hand to the table. 

They continued to work in silence again, Katara crushing the teeth into a finer mill. She was starting to feel the muscles in her arms tire once more, when the Slytherin suddenly spoke. 

“Okay, maybe I have been ignoring you…” Katara rolled her eyes at the obvious statement. Zuko glared at her again. “It’s just, people like us don’t talk… Slytherins do not mix, with those beside their brethren…  ”

_Slytherins do not mix, with those beside their brethren_

Katara followed the cadence of the words, a mirror to her brothers favorite saying. She should have expected there to be an expectation for the Slytherins to distance themselves from the other houses, just as the others were discouraged from befriending the house of silver and green. 

Zuko likely felt this pressure most of all. He was the son of the Minster, afterall. 

Katara hummed. “You’re right, but unlike everyone else in this school, you and I are lab partners for the rest of the term. We should be able to communicate like normal human beings… instead of you grabbing me like a caveman everytime I do something wrong.”

Zuko blushed a bit as he nodded along to her words. She continued in a softer voice. “I’m not asking to be friends, just… that we be civil.”

He tried to give her a pointed look, but he looked more unsure than anything. “Just lab partners?” 

Katara placed a hand over her heart. “Just lab partners. Nothing leaves this classroom and all conversations stay in the realm of school. We can even shake on it.” 

He sat there for a moment before sticking his hand out. “Okay. Lab partners.”

She gave him a soft smile as she gave his hand a firm shake. “Lab partners.”

A niggling in the back of her mind, told her that this was exactly what Sokka was afraid of, but she ignored it. This was civality not friendship and Katara was fine with that.

She kept the pajama pants folded neatly in the bottom of her trunk.

\---

 Three months passed since her run in with the three headed dog. 

Katara finally fell into the groove of Hogwarts, learning her way to her classes and diving head first into her studies. Before she knew it, the last of the autumn leaves had fallen, replaced by a blanket of snow. 

The bite of the winter air on her chapped skin and the chill in her bones, made her terribly homesick. Back home, a day like today would be spent huddled by the fire, with GranGran, as they mended and reinforced their winter clothes. 

Now, Katara found her Saturday mornings huddled outside the locker room in the freezing cold, waiting for her friend to finish zipping around the air on a broomstick. 

While most people migrated inside during the colder weather, Quidditch season didn’t start until you could see your breath. That meant Aang was busier than ever with his new practice schedule. 

So much so, that Katara and Toph barely saw the monk. 

The trio tried to find time for each other, but they never knew when Aang would have an impromptu practice or one that ran over. Like today, where their Saturday morning breakfast was starting later than planned, because of Quidditch practice running longer than intended. 

An hour longer than intended.

When they inquired why the practice was so long, the Hufflepuff captain reminded them that today was the first game of the season. Then, Toph reminded _him_ that the game was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, not Hufflepuff. 

Katara and Toph were made to wait by the locker room after that. 

“Earth to Sugar Queen!” Katara startled as Toph yelled in her ear, pulling her from her thoughts. “Are you there?”

Katara glared at the little Hufflepuff. “I’m right here Toph, there’s no need to yell.”

Toph shrugged. “But you didn’t hear me the first two times I called you? What are you thinking about?”

Katara rolled her eyes at the Hufflepuff. “Nothing in particular, just reading my book.” She motioned to the Book of Beginner Spells in her lap. 

She picked the book up after their visit to the third corridor. Katara wasn’t going to rely on Zuko being her ‘Prince Charming’ as Toph liked to put it. She would learn to defend herself.  

Initially, she hoped that Defense Against the Dark Arts would help, but four months into the class and it was obvious Professor Zei didn’t plan on teaching them anything worth while. Katara figured she would learn more from the simple book of spells than a year of DADA. 

Katara cleared her throat. “What did you need, Toph?”

“I’m cold.” 

Katara huffed at her blind friend. “What do you want me to do? Aang will be done with practice soon… hopefully. Then we can go inside.” 

Toph crossed her arms like a petulant child. “Look, I’m not asking for much. I’m sure that book of spells has something that can make a fire.”

Katara brightened a little at the request. “Well, I have been working on this new spell! Watch this!” She pulled a glass jar from her bag and placed her wand above the opening. 

“Bluebell Flames!” 

Katara concentrated hard as she carefully pronounced the words, and to her delight, small blue flames floated from the tip of her wand into the open mouth of the jar. 

When the fire stopped, Katara pulled her wand away and screwed the lid back on. She then carefully placed the jar in Toph’s hand. “Ta-da! Fire in a jar! How cool is that!”

Toph frown as she held the jar in her hands. “Are you sure this is fire? It feels awfully cold...” 

As Toph spoke, ice crystals began forming on the inside of the jar. Katara frowned too, flipping back through her spellbook. “Ice again! I don’t know why it keeps doing that-” 

“Doing what, Amaruq?” 

Katara jumped at the familiar, monotone voice, but it didn’t take her long to find it’s source. Jee stood on the pathway, a few feet away from the first years. The teacher moved toward the duo, closing the remainder of the distance between them, but it was slower than usual. 

Katara noticed that Jee had a really bad limp as he walked. 

Whatever brought on his slowed mobility, Katara was grateful for it, because it gave Toph plenty of time to shove the jar inside of her robes before the potion master saw it. 

Only a foot away now, Jee raised his eyebrow expectantly. “Well what do you have there, girl.”

“Nothing, Professor. Just a book of simple spells.” Katara held the book up, so the potions master could see that she was telling the truth. 

She imagined Jee would walk away when he couldn’t find her in violation of any rules, but he surprised her by snatching the book from her hands. “It’s against the rules to take library books outside the building. Five points from Gryffindor.”

Katara opened her mouth to protest his claim, but Toph elbowed her in the side… hard. Her words died on her tongue as she tried to keep from screaming. 

She wouldn’t be surprised if Toph cracked a few of her ribs. 

By the time she got over the blooming pain in her side, she could only stare at Jee’s back in disbelief as he limped away with her book. 

Katara glared at the spot on her lap where the book sat moments before. “I think he just made that rule up.” 

Toph hummed in agreement. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

When Aang finally came out of the locker room, 15 minutes later, Katara was still grumbling about her book. Aang kept apologizing for making them wait, thinking his tardiness caused her bad mood. 

Katara tried to assure the boy that it wasn’t his fault, even tried to muster up a smile to set him at ease, but she was too irritated to make it believable. 

Even when they made it to the dining hall and Katara shoved three pancakes down her throat, she still couldn’t stop thinking about her book.

It was so unfair. 

Katara slammed her fork down on her empty plate. “I’m getting my book back.”

Aang looked at her wearily. “Katara I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’ll just make Jee even more spiteful toward you.”

Toph nodded along to her fellow Hufflepuff. “Got to agree with Twinkle Toes. You have a death wish if you plan on asking Jee for that book back.”

Katara crossed her arms defensively. “I don’t care. I checked it out of the school library and he had no right to take it. I’m going to go get it back.” To prove her point, Katara stood from the table in a flurry. 

“Wait!” Aang’s voice rang throughout the cafeteria, grabbing not only Katara’s attention, but the attention of everyone within a five foot radius. The monk blushed a light shade of pink at the attention. 

Katara thought it made his head resemble a piece of Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum. 

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, before you go, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the quidditch match with me tonight. The captain is requiring all of us to go and observe the game and it’ll be both of our first games and-”

“Sure.” Katara cut him off, easily accepting his invitation. 

He looked at her with a child-like twinkle in his eye. “Really?” 

She nodded and was rewarded with Aang’s signature thousand watt smile. Katara was glad to see it. His smiles were becoming somewhat of a rare sight with how little she’s seen him. 

Katara continued. “Yeah. I’m going with Sokka anyway to support Haru, he’s a chaser on the Gryffindor team. It’ll be nice to go as a group. What about you Toph, you coming?”

Toph shrugged her shoulders lazily as she sat her feet on the table. “I think I’ll pass. I’m only interested in sports if I’m playing them, not watching. It’s kind of boring with the whole being blind thing.”

Katara just rolled her eyes at the Hufflepuff, too used to Toph’s crass sense of humor. The Gryffindor turned back to Aang and for a second, she thought she saw his eyebrows pinched in frustration, but a moment later, it was gone. 

It must be her imagination.  

Katara addressed the monk as she got up from the table. “Sokka said we’re meeting near the eastern stands, so I’ll see you then.” She bid Toph goodbye and promised Aang she would see him later, ignoring the part of her brain that told her she was missing something. 

She would worry about that later. Right now, she was on a mission to find the potions master and the first place on her list to look was the teacher’s lounge. If the spirits were on her side today, he would be there. 

Hopefully, Jee would be less cruel if there were other teachers to witness the exchange. 

Katara found the staffroom fairly quickly and knocked on the door, but no reply. She tried a few more times, but she was met with silence again and again. 

The room was either empty or whoever was inside didn’t want to talk. 

She knew she should give up and try again later, but she really wanted her book back. Maybe she could just slip in the teacher’s lounge, and see if it was there. 

It’s not like anyone was inside to catch her. 

Katara stood at the door waring between her choices, until she came to a compromise. She would try the knob, if it was locked she would leave. If the door was open, she would just slip inside and look for her book. With her mind made up, she twisted the knob.  

The door was unlocked. 

Taking it as a sign from the spirits, Katara decided to push the door open just enough to peek inside. She expected the room to be empty, but found herself intruding on a conversation between the caretaker and the potion master.  

Shangren sat at a table with Jee before him, his robes pulled up to his thighs to reveal a mangled, black and blue leg. 

The caretaker pulled a roll of bandages from a first aid kit, then began carefully wrapping the bandages around Jee’s leg. “Agni! I thought the point was not to get caught!”

Jee glared down at the caretaker. “You try next time. It’s not easy avoiding all three heads.”

Katara gasped, because there was only one thing she knew that had three heads. Unfortunately, her gasp also alerted the adults to her presence. 

“Amaruq!” Katara flinched at the sheer amount of furry and animosity she saw on the potion master’s face. Jee dropped his robes and turned fully to her. “What are you doing here?”

Suddenly nervous, Katara couldn’t stop herself from stuttering. “I-I just wanted m-my book b-back, since I’m inside now-”

She couldn’t even finish her sentence before Jee started yelling, his normally pale skin turned red as he spat. “Get out! Get out! Get Out!” 

Katara scurried from the room, thinking that Jee did a pretty good impression of a certain phantom monkey. 

\---

 “I thought you were staying out of trouble?” Sokka was throwing her disapproving glances as they stood outside the quidditch stands waiting for Aang. 

Katara rolled her eyes. “I was staying out of trouble. I just wanted my book back that Jee _unfairly_ took. Look, the point is that Jee’s leg looked like a chew toy and it was because of a three headed something. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

Against his wishes, Katara could tell she was peaking Sokka’s interest. Her brother couldn’t resist a good mystery. 

She continued, “And if my guess is right. I think that whatever Iroh got from the vault is underneath that trap door. Jee might be after it. I think we should tell Roku-” 

“Katara, no.” Sokka cut her off with a stern look, he was going into ‘big brother’ mode. “You _can not_ tell Roku about this. You can’t tell anyone.”

“But Sokka, Jee’s going-”

“Have you forgotten that you aren't supposed to know about the third corridor. How will you explain that to Roku?” Katara quieted at that, she’d forgotten it was forbidden. Sokka continued. “Besides, you don’t have enough evidence on Jee to prove it.”

“But his bruised leg!”

Sokka sighed, “Katara he’s a potions master. How long do you think he’s going to keep his leg like that now that you’ve seen it? I bet he’ll have a healing potion whipped up by tonight.”

Katara felt herself deflate a little bit as Sokka struck down all her arguments. “Then what am I supposed to do? Just forget about it until Jee steals whatever it is?”

She must’ve sounded as pitiful as she felt because Sokka pulled her into a hug. Katara wanted to tell him that she was too old for his bear hugs, but she let it go. Mostly because no one was around to see her be a big baby. 

Sokka spoke into her hair. “There’s nothing you can do until there’s more evidence, but don’t worry. If anything is wrong, Roku will protect this school with his dying breath and he’s the greatest wizard alive.” 

Her brother pulled away from her and gave her a big goofy smile. “And lucky for _you_ , the second greatest wizard is your big brother!” 

Katara rolled her eyes, even though she was smiling. “I thought you were trying to comfort me, not strike fear into my heart.”

When Aang finally showed up, Sokka was sulking a few feet away from her. 

The monk looked at the third year with open concern, but Katara waved him off. “Don't worry, he’s fine. Let’s go find our seat.”

Finding a seat was turning out to be much harder than they thought. 

With the game starting in a few minutes, most of the seats were filled. There were a few single seats here and there, but finding three seats together seemed impossible now. 

Katara was ready to accept their fate of sitting apart, when they heard a booming voice.

“Children!” 

They all looked up to find Iroh, waving at the trio from within the stands. The Giant looked exceptionally big surrounded by students. “If you are looking for seats, you can sit next to me!” 

Katara smiled at the giant as they made their way to him. She hadn’t seen Iroh as often as she wished in the last month. “Iroh! I didn’t know you were coming to the game!”

“Of course! I’m quite the fan of festive events!” The giant gestured to the seats around him. “There’s an empty seat to my right and two to my front by the railing. Pick whichever you want.”

Katara moved to the seat to Iroh’s right, hoping to catch up with the groundskeeper before the game, but Aang grabbed her hand to stop her. “Katara, let’s sit together up front.” 

She was a little reluctant at first, really wanting to sit by Iroh, but she agreed. Katara hadn’t spent much time with Aang either and he probably just missed her. 

She smiled at the monk. “Sure.”

Aang didn’t let go of her hand until they were seated in their seats. If Katara thought it was weird, the monk didn’t seem to.

They were barely in their seats before the announcer started speaking. “Welcome students to another year of the Hogwarts’ Quidditch Tournament. Let’s welcome our teams. Entering field right are the Gryffindors!”

Katara leaned against the railing to see the Gryffindors as they came onto the field, but they were impossible to see. The team looked so tiny on the ground level, especially because the stands were so far in the air. 

“Here.” Aang blushed as he handed Katara a pair of binoculars. “Captain explained that we might need them to see. You can borrow them for a bit.”

Katara smiled gratefully at Aang before taking the binoculars. With them, she could clearly see the team in their red robes and khaki riding pants. 

She was even able to find Haru on the field, although he looked a little different with his hair pulled back in a high ponytail. 

The announcer continued. “And entering field left are the Slytherins!”

A chorus of boos rang through the stands, including Sokka. “I hope Gryffindor smash those snakes in the ground! They’ve won the quidditch cup the last two years. It’s time someone else won.”

Katara hummed, not really listening to her brother. She was more interested in watching the Slytherins as they stepped onto the field. 

Similar to the Gryffindor’s, the Slytherin wore green coats and the same khaki riding pants.  However, the Slytherins weren’t just wearing the standard uniform, but a face full of makeup. 

Each member of the Slytherin team had a thick coat of white paint covering their entire face, while their eyes and lips were painted a dark maroon. 

Katara leaned back to her brother. “What’s with the face paint.”

Sokka rolled his eyes, like everything the Slytherins did got under his skin. “Bloody Baroness Kyoshi is their house ghost.” 

Suddenly their appearance made perfect sense to her. 

Katara remembered running into Bloody Baroness Kyoshi once. She was tall, strong and likely a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, her beauty was hard to see with the silver blood that dripped from every orifice of her face. 

One look at that bloody mouth and eyes, and Katara had nightmares for at least a week. 

To distract her from thinking of the ghostly women, she went back to observing the Slytherin team. After she got over the face paint, Katara noticed another abnormality. 

They were all girls. 

She faintly remembers Sokka mentioning it when they were on the train, but to actually see it was another thing. 

Katara ran her eyes over each of the team members as they were announced, to see if she recognized any of the girls, but even with the help of the announcer, she could hardly tell the girls apart with all the face paint. 

The only person that stood out in the group was a rather tall girl. 

Interested, Katara zoomed in the binoculars to get a better look at her, but the longer she looked, the more something seemed off about the girl. Her face appeared too square and her shoulders a little too broad, and yet, Katara swore she knew her. 

As if the announcer could personally hear her thoughts, the speakers roared. “And playing seeker for the Slytherins is Zuko Kasai.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone I'm so sorry for the unplanned hiatus!!! I have no excuse except that life got in the way. School is starting soon (and hopefully I'll get a job soon), so my life is about to get busy again. I'm still trying to get chapters to you guys in a timely manner. The second part of this has already been written and edited, so it will definitely be uploaded next Friday. 
> 
> We really are at the halfway point of the first arch! I want to thank everyone for continuing to read. I'm still having so much fun writing it for you guys! I also want to thank everyone's who've left comments. I don't always respond, but I read every single one. You guys make me so happy and give me the motivations to continue! 
> 
> That's enough talking, I'll see you guys next Friday for the next chapter.
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 11: The Quidditch Match
> 
> She didn’t really understand what was happening as the different players flew around. She tried listening to the announcer, but he was more confusing than he was helpful with his rapid fire comments. 
> 
> However, Katara found that she didn’t need to understand Quidditch to appreciate Zuko’s flying.


	11. The Quidditch Match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 11! Huge thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. She's the GOAT.
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 11 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Katara sat dumbfounded as the words registered. She couldn’t believe she didn’t recognize the third year.

Sure, his scar was covered in white face paint, but Katara could still see the asymmetry of his eyes and the familiar black bun. 

She turned back to her brother. “Zuko’s on the Slytherin team? I thought you said they’re an all girls team.”

Sokka gave her the ‘squint of suspicion’. “Why do you care?”

Her brother hadn’t been happy about her truce with the prince. While she’d been able to keep him quiet with her improving marks in potions, he still got weird whenever she mentioned Zuko by his given name. 

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. “Because you told me the Slytherin team was all girls and Zuko is clearly a boy.”

Sokka opened his mouth, probably to make a rather sexist remark, but Aang didn’t give her brother the chance to talk, speaking over him in a means to capture Katara’s attention. 

“Historically, the Slytherin team is usually female, but there are exceptions. Zuko is one of them, being the first male to play on the Slytherin team in 50 years.” Aang puffed out his chest a little. “He’s a seeker like me, so Captain wanted me to take this opportunity to study him.”

Katara nodded at the monk and followed the Captain’s advice by studying the prince too. It only took five minutes into the game, for Katara to realize how little she understood about Quidditch. 

Unlike the cheering fans beside her, Katara felt mostly confused as the different players flew around each deflecting and hitting various balls. She has no clue when she should cheer or boo, so she often stayed silent.

She even found that the announcer caused her more of a headache than he was helpful, his rapid fire comments coming faster than she could digest. 

Still, even with her lack of knowledge on the game, Katara found that she didn’t need to understand Quidditch to appreciate Zuko’s flying. 

She’s seen Aang fly a few times and Katara would describe the monk’s flying as airy and loopy. The monk was a natural and really mimicked the swirls of the wind, but Zuko’s flying was different. 

He didn’t fly with the wind, he sliced through it with speed and precision. Zuko moved with purpose and even as he circled above the players, not quite in the midst of the game, he still moved like a predator stalking his prey, a dragon preparing to strike. 

Suddenly, Zuko paused in his circling, then a moment later, he was diving into the fray. 

The announcer spoke. “Oh it looks like Kasai’s seen the snitch! Only 20 minutes into the game and he’s already going for it!” 

Zuko was weaving in and out of the other players, Katara only vaguely catching the glimmer of gold he was after, but she knew he was close.

He leaned forward on his broom and reached out his hand and Katara copied him, as she leaned forward in her own seat. He was only a millimeter from the snitch, the gold sphere almost within grasp, when Zuko was suddenly hit from the side by a burly Gryffindor. 

The force of the hit wasn’t enough to dislodge Zuko from his broom, but it was enough to stop him from catching the snitch and maybe even hard enough to hurt. 

Katara was sure a hit like that couldn’t be legal and sure enough, Joung Joung called foul. She was pleased by the call, but everyone else didn’t seem as happy as she was, especially Sokka. 

“Come on! He barely tapped him! What did he do, break the princess’ nail?”

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. There’s the sexist comment she avoided earlier. “Sokka that hit was against the rules, so it got a flag. Calm down.”

“So what? Joung Joung could’ve looked the other way! This is Slytherin we are talking about!” Sokka pouted at her. “Don’t you want Gryffindor to win?”

Katara sighed, of course she wanted her house to win the game, but she didn’t want them to cheat to do it. Gryffindors weren’t supposed to cheated, they were the good guys. 

She looked away from her brother. “If Gryffindor needs to cheat to win, then we don’t deserve it.”

The weight of her words hung heavy between them for a minute before Aang voice broke their silence. “I wonder what type of seeker technique Zuko is doing now.”

Katara turned back to the game, to find Zuko’s broom spasming in the air, his streamline style of flying replaced with jerky movements. Everyone else was starting to take note of the broom’s weird behavior too, as the prince continued to hold on for dear life. 

Sokka frowned in confusion, as Zuko was nearly flung from his broom. “That’s no technique. Brooms don’t move like that.” 

Katara watched as a few of the Kyoshi Witches tried to help the prince, but every time they did, the broom only flew higher and more eradicate, until the broom was practically bucking him off. “Maybe his broom was damaged when he was hit.”

“No.” Iroh stood from his seat, a look of alarm on his face. “Even the worst brooms don’t move like that. Only dark magic could make one so wild, a hex that couldn’t be done by any student here.”

Sokka looked at the giant with calculating eyes. “If he’s being hexed, someone has to be chanting to keep it going… but they could be anywhere in the stadium.”  

The words were barely out of Sokka’s mouth before Katara had the binoculars again, surveying the crowd for the purposed hexer. She prayed that the spirits aided her before it was too late for the prince. 

Luckily, she didn’t have to look for long before she spotted something suspicious. Only a few rows down from her sat Jee.

He sat ramrod straight his eyes determinedly looking forward and, most importantly, his mouth was moving nonstop, like he was muttering under his breath. 

She didn’t have to guess who the potions master as looking at.“Of course it’s Jee!”

“Jee?” She pushed the binoculars into Sokka’s hands, but didn’t wait for him to come to the same conclusion. Instead, Katara made her way to the potions master. 

Fighting against the clock, Katara pushed her way through the stands as she fought to get to Jee. She even knocked over Professor Zei in her rush. 

She spared the DADA professor a quick glance as he tumbled into the row in front of him. The sight made her cringe, but she didn’t have time to stop and apologize. 

She didn’t know how long Zuko could hold on. 

When she was finally close enough to Jee, she crouched down low and snuck behind him. Then Katara carefully pulled out her wand and whispered her spell. 

“Bluebell Flames… ” 

The familiar blue flames flew from her wand and onto the bottom of Jee’s seat. She watched as the ice licked its way up Jee’s back until all of his lower half and most of his abdomen were covered in a thick layer of ice. 

It was a sight that would have amused her any other day, but she couldn’t afford to stick around and get caught. So, Katara gave her potions master one last glance, before making her way back to her seat, just in time to see Zuko’s broom finally still. 

The prince was safe and the knowledge practically melted the tension from her frame. She made the right choice, she stopped Jee. 

With full control of his broom, Zuko quickly sped to the ground. Katara could tell, even from the stands, that the prince was shaken and a little green in the face from the whole ordeal. It was further proven as he covered his mouth halfway to the field, probably to keep himself from puking. 

As soon as Zuko landed, Katara watched as he stumbled off his broom and fell on all four. She expected to see the remnants of the prince’s lunch, but nothing came out as the prince heaved. 

She was beginning to think something else was wrong. 

Katara watched the prince in mounting dread as Zuko’s body jerked forward and his hands flew to his neck. She could see the familiar signs of distress, but it wasn’t until his face started purpling that Katara realized what was happening. 

She ran to the rail and yelled as loud as she could. “He’s choking! He’s choking!-”

At this point, Zuko had doubled over on the ground, so she could no longer see his face. Fear gripped her heart that he would die on this playing field in front of the whole school. 

She was afraid Jee might have won after all.

Then Zuko suddenly sat up, coughing madly, but _breathing_. Whatever was choking him, he must of been able to dislodge it from his throat. Katara watched in relief as his face returned to a normal color, dropping in her seat in relief. 

The stadium suddenly filled with buzz as all of the students began to talk. Joung Joung flew to the center of the field, lifting his hands in the air to quiet the noise. When it was quiet he spoke. “It looks like we will have to call the game-”

Whatever Joung Joung was about to say, was cut short by renewed screaming from the crowd. 

“What’s Kasai doing?”

“He’s standing up!”

“Aye! He’s holding something!”

Katara leaned over the rail again and just like the crowd said, Zuko was standing. His fist was raised in the air, holding something in his hand. 

Katara squinted her eyes against the night… then she saw it. Something gold and glittery within his grasp. 

\---

“He caught it with his mouth?”

They were all seated at the Gryffindor table. Usually, Katara found her house table to be loud and boisterous, but it was uncharacteristically sober following the Slytherin’s victory. 

Even Haru’s pleasant disposition was soured by the loss. Katara tried her best to cheer him up, but anything she did was negated by Toph’s indignant questions.

“He really caught it with his mouth?” The Hufflepuff was currently hounding her brother for details on the game.

Sokka groaned as he angrily shoved a roll in his mouth. “He didn’t catch it! He swallowed it! Big difference! Slytherin only won because they’re Slytherin!”

Her brother, like many others, weren’t happy about the results. Many felt like Zuko cheated, but he hadn’t broken any rules, so Joung Joung gave Slytherin the game. 

The Slytherins were overjoyed, even throwing a big party to celebrate the win. To bad their star player wouldn’t be attending. Following his dramatic show of the snitch, Zuko proceeded to pass out in front of the entire school. 

He was subsequently carried off to the infirmary. 

Toph gave a slow whistle. “Wow, that Sparky really is something. He has to be the first person to catch a snitch with their mouth.” 

Sokka continued to grumble about the game along with a few of the Gryffindor players. Katara accepted that this was going to be the soundtrack for the rest of dinner, when a small hoot caught her attention. She looked up just in time to see a small white owl landing on her plate, a letter in its beak. 

Sokka looked at the owl suspiciously. “This is a weird time to send a letter out. I wonder why it didn’t wait until the morning to deliver.”  

Katara shrugged at her brother as she ripped into the letter, reading its content.  “Oh, it’s from Iroh. He wants me to come to his hut, as soon as possible. Says it’s important.”

“I can go with you!” Aang practically jumped from his place at the table. 

Katara stopped the Hufflepuff before he could move very far. He’d been awfully clingy today. “Um, not this time, Aang. I think I should go by myself. Iroh specifically asked for just me. If it’s important, he might not feel comfortable talking around everyone.” 

“Oh… ” Aang gave her the saddest puppy eyes at her rejection. He looked so pitiful, she almost let him walk her to Iroh’s just to see him smile, but she was serious about respecting the giant’s privacy. 

Sokka gave her a searching look. “Are you sure you want to go by yourself? Do you know the way?”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Yes, Sokka. I’ve been to Iroh’s enough times to know… I’ll be fine.”

Before Aang could guilt her into taking him along and Sokka went into ‘overprotective brother’ mode, Katara made her exit. She made her way through the halls and out one of the many side doors to the campus fields. 

It was only seven o'clock, but it was pitch black outside, the winter sun already gone. Katara pulled her robes tighter around her body, before running across the snowy grounds.  

She would never admit it out loud, but she was starting to regret not taking Aang up on his offer to walk her to the hut. Katara had forgotten how close to the forbidden forest Iroh stayed and how creepy it looked at nightfall.

When Katara saw the hut, she nearly ran up the steps. They were a little bigger than normal ones, but she guessed they were the perfect size for Iroh’s large gait. 

Katara lifted her fist and banged on the wooden door, calling out to the giant. “Iroh, it’s me Katara!”

“Ah, Miss Katara!” She could hear the giants muffled voice through the door. “The door is unlocked, please come in.”

She did as the giant said, opening the door to the tiny hut. Immediately, Katara could feel a blast of warmth from inside and she wasted no time scrambling to follow it. 

Inside the hut, Katara found the crackling fire that she knew was the source of the warmth and, more importantly, she found Iroh. The giant was seated in one of the chairs from the dining set, but he wasn’t at the table like usual. Instead, Iroh was sitting next to his bed. 

Katara wasn’t sure if it was a sixth sense that made her look over to the cot or her never ending curiosity, but what she saw made her freeze, because laying in the bed was Zuko. 

Zuko in the infirmary issued pajamas asleep in Iroh’s cot. He looked so out of place in the giant’s hut, that all Katara could really do was stare at the sleeping prince. 

Iroh smiled at her from the prince’s bedside. “I’m sure you are very confused.”

Confused was an understatement. Wasn’t Zuko supposed to be in the school infirmary? How did he get to the hut and, more importantly, _why_ was he at the hut? 

Katara went for a simple nod. 

Iroh smiled at her. “I think I should start by reintroducing myself.” Katara watched as the giant bowed, similar to the day she met him. “My name is Iroh Kasai. Eldest brother of the Minister of Magic and Zuko’s uncle.”

“ _Uncle_?” The words were flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. She slapped her hands over her lips and glanced to the prince. 

He was still asleep. 

She turned back to Iroh, trying to see the similarities between the two, but she found none. Zuko was skinny limbs and sharp angles, where Iroh was big and round. 

Even their faces were complete opposites. The elegant slopes of Zuko’s face didn’t match the robust features of the old man. 

Iroh chuckled. “If you are looking for similarities between Nephew and I, you will find none. I inherited the giant blood that my mother carried. An oversight on my father’s part, that he did not repeat when choosing his second wife and having my brother.”  

Katara stared at the old man as she tried to process the information. At least she understood why Zuko was in the hut. 

She opened her mouth to ask a few more questions, but she was cut off by the slamming of the door and a flustered Suki in its entrance. 

The redhead looked around the room frantically before landing on Zuko. Katara watched as the girl all but slumped against the doorframe. 

Iroh chuckled. “I see you got my letter.”

Suki rolled her eyes as she held out the crushed sheet of paper. “Yeah after almost having a heart attack. Imagine being told that Zuko is in the medical wing, only to find the place deserted, not a seeker in sight.” 

Iroh sheepishly smiled at the girl. “Please forgive the deceit. I wished to keep a close eye on my nephew after the attack he suffered on the Quidditch field.”

Then Iroh turned his gaze to Katara. “It is why I summoned you here. It appears you stopped the attack on my Nephew. I wish to hear your account. Doctor Yugoda and Professor Piando are looking into it, but your insight might help the investigation.”

Suddenly, Katara could feel both Suki and Iroh’s eyes on her, but she swallowed against her nervousness. Holding her head high as she answered. “It was Jee, he was hexing the broom.”

“Jee?” Iroh’s eyebrows nearly shot off his face in surprise. “You must be mistaken. Jee is a teacher at this school. I can not imagine him seeking ill amongst any of the students.”

Katara shook her head. “I know what I saw. Jee was chanting the entire time Zuko’s broom was spasming out. When I iced him, the hex stopped.”

“I believe her.” Suki was looking on Zuko with gentle eyes. “Jee’s always had it out for him. It wouldn’t surprise me.”

Iroh gave the captain a disapproving look. “Just because Jee is hard on Zuko, doesn’t mean he is capable of such evil-”

“But he is!” Katara shouted over the giant. “Jee tried to sneak past the three headed dog. I don’t know when, but his leg’s all chewed up from trying. Whatever that dog is guarding Jee wants it… He can’t be trusted.”

Iroh gave Katara a searching look. “How do you know about my polardog, Fluffy?” 

It was only belatedly that Katara remembered that she wasn’t supposed to know about the three headed dog, that was apparently named Fluffy. 

She shook her head. “Does it matter? Jee is trying to get past it and-”

“And as I said, you are mistaken.” Iroh spoke over her. “You are wrong about Jee on both accounts. And don’t worry about Fluffy, headmaster Roku and Bumi have complete trust in Fluffy’s capability of guarding the-”

“Guarding what?” Katara could see Iroh clamp up the moment she asked her question. She cursed herself for not keeping her mouth shut. At least she had a new clue to research. 

Katara made a mental note to research this Bumi. 

Iroh opened his mouth, probably to tell her off, but the giant was cut off by a groan coming from his bed, followed by the appearance of a shaggy mop of hair. 

“Zuko!” 

Katara jumped at Suki’s sudden scream. Caught up in her fight with Iroh, she’d nearly forgot about the captain. 

She watched as Suki ran to the prince, squishing him against her front in a bone crushing hug. 

Zuko groaned. “Why do I feel like I swallowed a cactus?”

“Maybe because you swallowed a snitch and almost died!” Suki handed him the glass of water Iroh sat on the nightstand. “By the way, don’t ever do something like that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Zuko downed half the glass before looking back at the captain. “I distinctly remember you saying, in the locker room, that we needed to win, whatever it takes.”

Suki rolled her eyes. “Forget what I said as a captain. As your friend, don’t ever scare me like that again... I don’t know what I’d do if my favorite person was gone.”

Zuko went a little pink around the ears at Suki’s words, but he nodded his head. The captain rewarded him with another hug. 

Katara watched as the two Slytherins embraced. Something foreign and ugly wiggled in her stomach at the sight. Suddenly, she didn’t really like Suki. 

That weird feeling continued to grow until it was clawing at her throat to escape. Katara cleared it to fight off the feeling. It worked to stop the feelings, but it also made Zuko privy to her presence. 

He stared at her for a moment, like he couldn’t believe she was there, before turning to Iroh. “Uncle, What is she doing here?”

Katara bristled at not being directly addressed. “I saved your life that’s what!”

“You… did?” Zuko was staring at her like he didn’t quite believe it. 

Katara glared at the prince. “Yes I did!”

When she failed to elaborate, Suki filled in the details for her. “Yeah, she froze Jee’s butt to the seat. Stopped whatever hex he was putting on your broom-” 

“Allegedly.” Iroh gave Suki a pointed look. “We don’t know who or what caused your broom to behave like that. Piando and Doctor Yugoda are looking into it.”

Zuko nodded along, clearly following the tension between the other three occupants, but he didn’t comment on it.  

Patting the prince one last time, Suki stood from the bed. “Well, I should get back to the rest of the team. I’m sure they want an update on your condition.”

Katara was ready to dismiss herself as well, but Zuko spoke before she could. “Suki, let Uncle walk you back. You shouldn’t go by yourself.” 

Katara opened her mouth, to tell the prince that Suki could walk with her because she was leaving too, but Zuko sent her a pointed look that made her close it.  

Whatever hint Katara missed, Suki had no problem catching it. One quick glance between the Slytherins and it was like they had a whole conversation.

Suki hummed. “Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t realize how close it is to curfew. Shangren will definitely be patrolling the Slytherin halls because of the win. Iroh do you mind?”

The giant looked between Zuko and Suki, like he knew they were up to something but he couldn’t prove it. “Why don’t you and Miss Katara walk back together. She should be getting back too.” 

Suki and Zuko shared another glance, before the captain trained her eyes on Katara. “That’s fine with me.” She sounded like she didn’t care, but something about the subtle glances the captain was throwing her said otherwise. 

When Katara continued to stare blankly at the captain, Suki huffed before mouthing ‘say no’. 

Oh, she got it now

“Actually!” Katara said the word a little louder than she needed to. “Is it alright if I stay a little longer?” 

She smiled at the giant, occasionally glancing at Suki, who was giving her a thumbs up behind Iroh’s back and motioning for her to continue. “I just want to stay for a little longer to make sure he’s alright. Seeing him choking like that-“

Katara broke off like the image was too painful to remember, not that it was far from the truth. It wasn’t something she was likely to forget anytime soon. 

Iroh’s pursed his lips, a conflicted look in his eyes. “I don’t know, Zuko is still hurt-” 

Katara didn’t let him finish before she was countering him. “I can stay and watch! I have lots of medical experience from helping my GranGran at the healing hut back home. Just let me stay until you get back… Please?”

Zuko gave an annoyed huff, like he wasn’t the one who concocted this scheme. “Just let her stay uncle.”

With the prince’s approval, Iroh finally gave in. “Okay. I will be back shortly, Nephew. Miss Katara, if his condition gets worse or there is any danger, run to the castle immediately for help.”

Both of the kids nodded in understanding and just like that, Iroh and Suki left the hut, leaving Katara and Zuko in the giant’s hut… alone. 

Zuko motioned to the seat next to the cot and upon his unspoken command, Katara sat down on the edge of the chair. 

Their close proximity reminded her that she hadn’t been alone with the prince since the night of the third corridor, something she hadn’t thought about when convincing Iroh to leave her in the hut with the Slytherin. 

Sure they were together in potions, but that was because they were lab partners. The environment was clinical and impersonal, making it easier to stay on class related topics like potions, homework and Jee. 

Not to mention the fact that they were in a classroom with Azula and their respective houses. Neither of which were conducive to a friendship. 

Iroh’s hut, on the other hand, was different. Not only was it just the two of them, but the warmth of the fire and the homely atmosphere of the cottage felt too intimate with just two people.

For the first time ever, Katara wished Azula was here.

The prince looked at her. “I wanted to-” 

Whatever Zuko was about to say was cut off by a fit of coughing. He grabbed his water glass, only to find it empty.

Katara quickly took the cup and refilled the glass of water, then shoved it into Zuko’s hand. He took several long gulps of the cup, only pausing to breathe. When he was done Katara moved to grab the cup and refill it once more, but Zuko held the glass firm. 

When she looked up at him, he trapped her under the gaze of his honey eyes. Katara felt her face flame red at the attention. “I wanted to…  thank you, for stopping the hex… I-I owe you my life.”

Her eyes got big as she took in his words. “You believe me then, about Jee?”

“Yes.” Zuko’s answer was instant and Katara marveled at the surity of the words. 

She hadn’t expected the prince to believe her, especially after Iroh’s reaction. Sokka had warned her that she wouldn’t be believed, but the giant’s rejection still hurt. 

Having said what he wanted, Zuko’s grasp loosened on the cup and Katara took the opportunity to snatch it from his hand. She practically ran to Iroh’s table, where the pitcher of water sat, careful that her back was facing the prince. 

Katara prayed her face would cool to its normal color before she had to face him again. 

“Consider us even.” She filled the cup, using the task to school her expression before turning back to the Slytherin. “Since you saved my life first.”

Katara handed Zuko the new glass of water and he hummed his thanks. They drifted into another bout of silence, Katara awkwardly sitting as Zuko sipped his new glass of water. 

When the glass was nearly empty, Zuko spoke again. “If we’re keeping count, I’m sure I’ve saved your life a few more times. Wasn’t it just yesterday that you tried to add spark rocks into our wart potion?”

Katara sputtered at the prince, remembering her slip up the day before. It’d been their midterm and she’d almost flubbed it.

She opened her mouth, prepared to apologize for the hundredth time, when she noticed the slight twinkle in his eye. 

In that moment, she realized that the prince of Slytherin was _messing_ with her. 

Katara huffed, she didn’t like being teased. “How was _I_ was supposed to know they were highly explosive!”

Zuko gave her a pointed look. “They’re spark rocks! I’m sure it’s in the first chapter of our textbook.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “He reads and rides a broom. Next thing I know, you’ll be telling me you apply your own makeup, too.”

Zuko blushed a deep red and Katara stared at the prince with big eyes, before bursting into giggles. “Oh Tui, you do!”

“It’s apart of being on the team! And it’s a great honor to be a Kyoshi Witch!” Zuko was glaring at her, his face beat red, but Katara could tell there wasn’t any real heat behind his stare. 

His gold eyes were as soft as ever.

Katara raised her hands in the air in the universal sign of surrender. “Never said it wasn’t… the makeup actually reminds me of the war paint my tribesmen wear during their hunts.” 

Zuko huffed, still looking a little pink around the ears. “I bet they can’t get the poreless finish I can.”

Katara giggled again. “Of course not. They’re all brawn and no beauty… unlike you.”

The pillow that smacked her in the face was unexpected. She peeled the fluffy mass off her face to see a smirking prince. “Sorry… it slipped.”

Katara stared at the prince for a moment, taking in his disheveled hair and bland pajamas. Something about him seemed oddly carefree and she wondered if it was effect of the hut or the freedom from the castle. 

This version of Zuko suited him so much more than the gloomy prince or the hardened Quidditch player. 

She smiled gently at the prince, looking him in the eyes. “You really are alright, aren’t you?” 

It was Zuko’s turn to blush under her watchful eyes, but he returned her smile, even if it was just a small uptick of the corner of his mouth. “Yeah… I really am alright.” 

“Good.” Katara’s smile turned dangerous as she lifted the pillow he’d hit her with earlier. “Because, you just challenged the pillow fighting queen!” 

That was the only warning she gave before her assault on the prince. 

In between her hits, she could hear Zuko squawking about the morals of fighting the injured, but Katara showed no mercy. She’d just cranked her arm back for another blow, when the door flung open to reveal Iroh, his face red and chapped. 

He raised an eyebrow as he stared at the pair. “Miss Katara, I wasn’t aware that your people use such… unique medical practices.”

Katara blushed a deep red at the giants word. She opened her mouth to explain herself, but Zuko started coughing, or more accurately, _fake_ coughing. She could see him using his fist to cover his smirk. 

If a ‘little’ water spilled on his lap when she handed him his cup, it was purely by accident. 

Iroh smiled at the duo. “Alright you two, it’s time for Miss Katara to go back to the castle and for Nephew to rest.”

He made for the door again before pausing in the threshold. “And don’t think I didn’t catch onto the charades Miss Suki was playing behind my back. I am a wise old man, afterall. Now let’s go, Miss Katara.”

Nodding at the astute giant, Katara scrambled from the bed, but before she could leave, Zuko grabbed her sleeve. The tug on her arm made her turn toward the prince, catching his eyes in the light of the hut. 

“Thanks again… Katara.”

When Iroh walked her back to the castle, she made sure not to look in the giant’s direction. If she did, Katara was sure he would notice just how red her face was. 

That was the first time Zuko’s called her by her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part two of the last chapter! I really hoped you enjoyed it, because I had so much fun writing Suki, Zuko and Katara together. I like to imagine that Katara doesn't really get hints/is a little oblivious, where Zuko is used to reading between the lines having to deal with Azula and Iroh all the time. Suki is a ninja at heart (my stealth queen), so her and Zuko just get each other. 
> 
> Also, another Zutara moment! It finally feels like our little duo are becoming friends. 
> 
> I'm so excited about the next chapter. It was one of the first chapters I started working on when I decided to do this fic and a snippet from this chapter used to be part of the fic's summary on here. Of course it needs to be completely reworked to fit the current story, but I'll new and improved version to you guys soon!
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 12: Christmas
> 
> Sokka snatched his hand away from her before plopping down into one of the desks. “Well whatever you need to show me better be good. I was having the best dream about a sandwich-”
> 
> “I promise this is more important than a sandwich,” Katara sat the white box down, in front of her brother, before removing the lid.


	12. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 12! Huge thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. <3
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 12 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“Nothing… again.” 

Katara closed _Notable Magical Names of Our Time_ with a loud thud, the noise swiftly followed by the librarian’s irritated hush. 

The Gryffindor fought the urge to roll her eyes. 

It’s not like anyone else was in the library besides the two of them. Everyone was either packing to leave or relaxing in their dorms for the winter holiday. 

Katara picked up her last book, _Great Wizards of the 20th Century_ , with a sigh. She wanted nothing more than to kickback and take a breather like her classmates, but that wasn’t possible. 

Not when Jee was hatching nefarious plans and she was the only one privy to it. 

The Potions Master may have his colleagues fooled, but Katara saw Jee for who he was, a cold blooded villain stealing right from under their noses. 

Although, it was proving harder than she expected to convince everyone else. Maybe Sokka was right about her not having enough evidence to convict the Potions Master, Iroh’s rejection proof enough, but the Gryffindor wasn’t deterred.   

Instead, it motivated her.

Katara would find all the evidence she needed, then build a case against Jee, that was so airtight, Roku would have no choice but to believe her. But first, she needed to find out what exactly Fluffy was guarding; and the only clue she had was a slip of the tongue from Iroh.

_Bumi._

The giant didn’t give much away about the mysterious figure, except that he was an associate of Roku. Katara figured anyone friends with the Headmaster had to be a powerful and well known wizard, someone that could easily be found with a quick library search. 

How wrong was she.

She started her search with a few books on contemporary wizards with no luck at all. Still, she  continued to look, but the more she did, the more she got the same results. 

Nothing. 

Finding Bumi was requiring more time than she expected, and Katara didn’t have much to spare with the end of term approaching.  

Every day they came closer and closer to holiday, the more work her teachers assigned. Katara’s workload was stacked so high, she barely had time to sleep, let alone time to research. 

Jee’s class was particularly brutal. 

He assigned so much work, Katara practically turned in a novel on the last day of class. Her only consolation about doing so much work, was that the Potions Master would be forced to grade it over break. 

Hopefully, it made him too busy to enact any of his villianness plans.

Katara sighed. “Nothing in this one either.” She slammed _Great Wizards of the 20th Century_ shut with a loud thud, that the librarian’s promptly followed with _another_ irritated hush.

This time, Katara didn’t fight the urge to roll her eyes as she took down the titles of the books she’d just read. Something she found necessary after accidentally checking out _Modern Magical Discoveries_ on three different occasions.

Frustrated, Katara moved from the table to the shelves, randomly plucking books as she went. She found that this technique worked the best for her, considering that the month in the library hadn’t made her any more familiar with how the books were categorized and sorted. 

Apparently, the Dewey Decimal System was a muggle-born invention. 

Katara wandered through the shelves, looking for a book she hadn’t tried. She continued her aimless trek, until she was stopped by a red velvet rope and a wooden sign. 

 _The Restricted Books_  

These were the books that held secrets of dark magic and wizardry. Only those with a special pass from a professor were granted entrance. That stipulation alone kept the section out of her reach. 

No teacher in their right mind would grant a first year a pass. 

It was best if Katara just forget about the books, but instead, she found herself drawn to the section more and more. She couldn’t stop thinking that the book she was looking for was just past that rope. 

Carefully, Katara wandered a little closer, brushing her fingers across the red cord. There didn’t appear to be any hexxes or jinxs to keep kids away, it’s exclusivity maintained by a system of good faith. 

She could easily step over the rope and grab a book. It would only take a few minutes. Just enough to- 

“Miss Amaruq!” Katara nearly jumped out of her skin at the shrill voice. Panicked, she spun on her heels, only to come face to face with the old librarian. 

She was a twig of a woman. Her back humped and her limbs so long she resembled a weeping willow. Even the skin on her face hung down long, but more like melted candle wax, the pale skin folding over itself, so the only visible features were a pointed nose, a thin lipped mouth and two beady eyes.  

And right now, those beady eyes had settled on the cable where the Gryiffindor’s fingers rested. 

Katara quickly snatched her hand back, causing the old woman to purse her lips, a look of disdain painting her face. “This section is off limits… unless you have a pass?”

The librarian continued to stare, making the Gryffindor release a nervous laugh. “Oh no, I don’t have a pass. I just got a little, uh, turned around as I was searching. Didn’t even realize where I was… ” 

The suspicious look didn’t leave the old woman’s face. She clearly didn’t believe her, not that Katara was being very convincing. 

The librarian gave a tired sigh. “Miss Amaruq, you have obviously been looking for something for the last couple of weeks.” 

Katara cursed under her breath, she thought she was being discreet. 

“Now come out with it. What are you looking for? I’m sure I could help you find it. ” The old woman waited impatiently for a second, before snapping again. “What, scared I won’t know? I bet every book in here I will.” 

Katara didn’t doubt the woman’s claim. In fact, she was sure the librarian could help her find _exactly_ what she was looking for, and that was the problem. 

She didn't want anyone knowing about her research.

Katara couldn’t take the chance of Jee discovering that she was on to him. The less people that knew the better.  

“Well, what is it?” The old woman snapped, bringing the first year back to the present and the dilemma at hand. 

Katara shuffled nervously as she raked her brain for a convincing lie. “Well, I, uh-”

Suddenly, a loud bang rang through the library, causing both her and the librarian to jump.  The old woman frowned. “What in the flying bisons is going on!” 

Katara watched as the old woman turned on her heels and shuffled her way toward the sound. She followed the librarian’s gait for a moment before glancing back at the restricted books. 

Maybe she could grab a book or two while the librarian’s back was turned. 

Unfortunately, the librarian came to the same conclusion. “Come on girly. I know better than to leave you alone next to those books.” 

Katara huffed in disappointment but did as she was told, following a few steps behind the old woman. Once they made it to the front, it became obvious that the sound was caused by someone shoving the doors open, the heavy wood colliding with the wall behind it. 

Katara rolled her eyes. Only someone with no home training would do something like-

“Sugar Queen!” 

Katara rubbed her forehead. Of course. 

Standing in the arch of the door was Toph with both hands extended, not even hiding the fact that she was the one causing the ruckus. 

Katara also noted how nice the Hufflepuff looked, dressed in her expensive clothes and tailor made peacoat: pressed, neat and surprisingly clean. 

Even her hair was done. 

Toph’s bangs were pulled back, so they no longer covered her eyes but hung daintily to the side, framing either side of her face. The rest of her hair was styled in a sophisticated bouffant.

Her makeover was a far cry from the rumpled Hufflepuff she usually saw with wrinkled clothes and tangled hair.  

But her dolled up appearance did nothing to tame the mischievous nature within. Especially, if the proud expression she wore said anything. 

The librarian glared at the tiny girl. “Young lady! This is a library not a zoo! Show some respect for your peers as they study-” 

“Speaking of peers.” Toph rudely interrupted the woman, cleaning her ears with the tip of her pinky. “I’m looking for someone. Can’t really describe her, but she has a _really_ naggy voice. It sounds like this.” 

The impersonation Toph was giving had Katara glaring at the little Hufflepuff right along with the librarian. “I am _not_ naggy.”

Toph blinked in surprise. “Wow that was fast. My impression must’ve been spot on.”

“No it wasn’t. I was already here.” Katara crossed her arms defensively. “Besides, I am not naggy.”

“Are, too.”

“Am not!”

“You totally are! You’re doing it right now!”

“I am not-”

“Ahem!” The librarian cleared her throat, effectively cutting into their back and forth. She glared at both of them. “If you two insist on continuing this discussion, then you can do so _outside_ of my library.” 

Katara blushed up to her ears, thoroughly embarrassed from being reprimanded. Toph didn’t seem to care one way or the other, but she kept quiet for the Gryffindor’s sake.   

It took several awkward minutes for Katara to checkout her library books. When she was done, she practically bolted from the library, dragging her friend behind her. 

As soon as they were outside and out of the hearing range of the old woman, Katara set in on Toph. “What were you thinking, busting in there like a rhinobear? Next time you come to the library, can you try _not_ to get me banned?”

Toph just shrugged off her irritation, continuing down the hall. “Well you’ve been isolated in that dust hole for the past month and I wanted you to come eat lunch with me. It’s my last meal as a free woman before I’m shipped back to prison.” 

Right, Katara forgot Toph was one of the many students going home for the holiday. That explained why she was dressed so nice. 

Katara sighed as she ran up to the Hufflepuff. “That doesn’t mean you can walk in like you have _zero_ home training.” 

“Hey!” Toph pulled a face. “I don’t want to hear anything about manners before I have to leave the free world.” 

Katara rolled her eyes. “And stop talking like you’re going to prison. You’re just going home. Sounds more like you lucked out to me.” 

Maybe she was projecting her own wants onto the Hufflepuff, but Katara would do anything to go home for break, but it just wasn’t possible. The winters were terrible back home and the harbor would be frozen solid. 

No one was getting in or out the tribe until spring. 

So her and Sokka were forced to stay at Hogwarts, with a handful of other students, for the entirety of break. The only good thing about not going home for break is that Aang was staying too.

Toph huffed. “Well maybe I should catch a boat back to your Grandma’s because where I’m going, isn’t anything to be excited about. There’s nothing waiting for me but pure-blood parties, stuffy dresses, and a lot of butt kissing.”

Katara was about to comment that it couldn’t be _that_ bad, when a voice interrupted their conversation. 

“I’m sure a crash course in higher society would do you good, Toph.” 

Katara knew that voice and there was nothing she disliked more than hearing it, except being addressed by it. 

Annoyed, the two first years turned around to find Azula standing behind them. Just like Toph, she’d traded in her uniform and robes for an expensive outfit of cashmere and silks. 

Katara was sure nothing on her cost less than a hundred dollars. 

“Good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion.” Toph smirked at Azula.  “When I need lessons on being a prissy princess, I’ll call you.”

Katara smiled at the Hufflepuff. Unlike the rest of the pure-blood population, Toph never bowed down to Azula. It usually drove the princess crazy, but today, the Slytherin just smiled. 

Azula lifted her finger, wagging it at the Hufflepuff. “Ah, ah, ah. I’ve had enough of that smart mouth of yours. You might have forgotten who you are while splashing around the mud with your housemates, but it’s in your best interest to remember before walking out of these walls.”  

Toph sneered at the princess. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, the Beifong family has the honor of hosting the annual Christmas dinner this year.” Azula stopped, pursing her lips in a sad little pout. “Imagine the shame and embarrassment if the Minister and his family failed to show up. Especially for your dear mother.” 

Katara rolled her eyes at the princess. Did Azula think she was that important, that her absence would make or break a whole party? Katara knew it was only a matter of seconds before Toph laughed the girl out of town.

Except the laughter never came.

Toph just stood there, her teeth bared and her hands clenched, but she never said anything. Katara looked at the girl in confusion. “Toph what are you-”

But the Hufflepuff held up her hand, stopping her mid sentence. The princess watched the exchange gleefully, humor flashing in her golden eyes, before focusing fully on Toph. “There you go, finally acting like a true pure-blood. Sometimes we have to remind people where they stand.”

It took everything for Katara not to rip Toph’s hand away from her face and give Azula what for, but she reframed. Toph was silently begging her to stand down and the Hufflepuff wasn’t one to beg. 

Azula sighed happily. “As amusing as this is, I should be getting on my way.” The princess walked past the pair. When she was a little bit away, she stopped to throw a smirk over her shoulder. “I really do look forward to seeing you over the holidays, Toph.”

With that annoyingly smug goodbye, the princess finally left. 

Toph let out an irritated scream before her shoulders sagged and a look of resignation marred her delicate features. “Like I said, there’s nothing exciting about going home.”  

As tiny as Toph was, Katara had never seen her look so small, so defeated. She didn’t like it. 

Katara grabbed the Hufflepuff gently around the elbow, pulling her toward the dining hall. “Come one, we have a meal to get to and I promise not to nag. Not even when you try to talk around your-Ow!” 

Katara rubbed her arm where the Hufflepuff  just punched her. She was about to give her little friend a lecture about not hitting people when Toph suddenly hugged her arm, hiding her face in the cloth of Katara’s robe.  

“Thanks, Katara.”

The mumbled words immediately knocked the lecture out of her. Sometimes she forgot how allergic the Hufflepuff was to feelings. Katara sighed, patting the girl's head before continuing down the hall. 

“Anytime. Toph.”

\---

Christmas wasn’t a traditional holiday in her tribe. The elders not only disapproved of it but outright refused to acknowledge it. 

That didn’t stop it from being her mother’s favorite holiday. 

Katara couldn’t remember a time when her mother didn’t go all out for Christmas, decorating every nook and cranny of their small cottage in lights, stockings and paper snowflakes. All the messes their little family made baking and icing cookies to leave out by the tree. 

Most importantly, she remembered the way it felt to snuggle into her mother’s lap for the night as the fireplace lulled her to sleep with it’s melody of crackles and pops. The warmth settling from the tips of her toes to the deepest parts of her heart. 

Unfortunately, nothing about waking up alone in a drafty room, brought out the Christmas spirit.  

Katara groaned, pulling the covers over her head to block out the sun’s golden rays while simultaneously trying to beat the chill. 

She was pretty upset when Doctor Yugoda sat down all four of the Gryffindors staying over break and made it very clear that no other student was to enter their commons room. 

House rules were house rules no matter what. 

It’s how Katara, despite both her brother and one of her best friends being at the school, still woke up alone on Christmas day. 

Not quite ready to face the cold, she wrapped herself tighter in the covers before hearing several items fall to the floor, making Katara pause in her crusade to become a human burrito. 

She didn’t remember leaving anything on her bed the night before, but maybe she had. Sitting up, she had a few ideas what the fallen objects could be, none of them were the wrapped packages she found. 

Confused, Katara blinked at the gifts that littered the ground. She’d got all the presents she expected to receive for the year.  

GranGran mailed her gift nearly a month ago, before the weather back home got too cold for Hawky to fly in. Her and Sokka traded gifts the night before on Christmas eve, because the Ravenclaw wanted to sleep in. And Aang didn’t celebrate Christmas.

 Katara threw back her covers and picked up the fallen gifts, placing them back on the foot of her bed. There were a total of four. 

Cautiously, she picked up one of the gifts, beautifully wrapped in silver paper and gold ribbon. There was a tiny tag attached with Haru’s name and a little note.

_To help with the card collection._

When she unwrapped it, she smiled at the boxes of chocolate frogs. 

The next gift wasn’t fully wrapped, just a ribbon tied around a book of simple spells, similar to the one Jee confiscated from her. In the cover she found a small message from Toph, that she’d got Kuie to write for her. 

_Maybe you can learn a few more ways to ice Jee’s butt to a chair._

_-Toph_

Katara laughed at the message, before placing the book on her nightstand. Maybe she could continue her independent DADA training over break.

The next gift was a lump of haphazardly wrapped parchment and twine, Iroh’s name written neatly on the top. Wondering what the giant could have gotten her, Katara ripped into the gift to find a bundle of blue yarn. 

Confused, she pulled the lump of fabric from its wrapping before realizing that it was actually a sweater. 

Sky blue with a large, navy K woven into the front. Katara noticed several holes in the sweater. The knitter’s novice skills were obvious, but it was still wearable. She was touched by the amount of time the giant must’ve spent making it. 

Katara needed to visit the groundskeeper and thank him for the gift. 

Throwing the sweater on over her sleep shirt, she grabbed the last present, a large white box. It didn’t have a tag or a name written on it and Katara couldn’t think of anyone else who would give her a Christmas present. 

The mysterious package reminded her of the stories her mother used to tell her about a magical fat man named Santa, who delivered presents all over the world to all the boys and girls with the help of his little elf helpers and flying reindeer. 

She suddenly wondered if the jolly old man snuck into her room last night, to deliver this present, but the cookies she smuggled from the dining hall the night before were still on her night stand. She scolded herself for thinking such a childish thought. 

Of course it wasn’t Santa. 

Deciding just to open it, Katara removed the lid, revealing a folded quilt. It’s patchwork was so familiar, the stylized wolves and snowflakes reminiscent of her people.

Gently, she pulled the quilt out the box, causing a small sheet of paper to flutter from its folds. Katara draped the blanket over her lap before picking up the note. 

_Katara,_

_This blanket belonged to your mother. She left it in my care many moons ago. She once told me that a quilt holds the generational love from a mother to her daughter. Once a gift from her mother to her, I return this to you on Kya’s behalf, so that tradition may continue once more._

_Use well Katara and Merry Christmas._

Katara blinked several times, rereading the note over and over again before placing it back in the box. 

Rubbing her hand against the quilted fabric, she looked down to admire something that once belonged to her mother, or at least she would’ve, if the blanket hadn’t vanished… along with the entirety of her lower half. 

“What in the La!” Katara jumped from the bed in search of her missing bottom half. She didn’t have to look long, because the second her legs were exposed to the crisp air of her room, they reappear. 

Her legs were right there, clear as day. Every muscle, scar, bone and tissue just as she remembered. 

Maybe she’d just been seeing things. 

Scolding herself for being so dramatic, Katara picked up the gifts she knocked down in her panic. She gathered the quilt up from the floor, draping it across her arm, only to watch both the blanket and her arm vanish. 

For the second time, Katara threw the quilt to the floor, her arm reappearing. 

Her eyes grew wide as she processed what she’d just seen. Katara was sure she hadn’t imagined it that time, her arm had really been invisible, but how?

She looked back to the quilt laying inconspicuously on the ground. Slowly, Katara inched her way to the mysterious gift before carefully sliding her foot under the blanket. She watched as both her foot and the blanket disappeared, completely invisible. 

“Oh, Tui. Oh, Tui. Oh, Tui-” Katara snatched up the quilt, threw it back in the box before making her way to the door. She needed answers and there was only one person she felt comfortable enough to share the gift with, house rules be damned. 

Katara had never been to the fifth floor, but she’d been told how to get there, in case of emergencies. 

Following the instructions she’d been given, it didn’t take long before she found herself at the bottom of a spiral staircase. Katara took a deep breath before starting up the steps. 

She wasn’t even halfway up there efore her legs were screaming at her to stop. Katara didn’t understand how other students did this everyday. She needed two breaks just to reach the top. 

When she finally did, the only thing there to greet her was a simple wooden door, without a doorknob or keyhole. There was only a brass eagle knocker that adorned the surface. 

Not sure where to go from here, Katara reached for the large ring and knocked once against the old wood. She stood in silence for a minute, waiting for the door to open, when the beak of the eagle did instead, a musical voice fluttering from the brass knocker. 

“The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?”

Katara’s brow pinched in confusion at the sudden question. “Um, I don’t know? I actually just need to see my brother. It’s urgent.”

But the eagle was unsympathetic to her pleas. It simply replied in a disappointed voice. “That is not the correct answer.” 

Katara watched helplessly as the eagle slowly closed its mouth. “Wait, I just need to see my brother-” The mouth shut with a definite clink, causing her shoulders to sag. 

How was she supposed to see Sokka now?

“You have to solve the riddle.” Katara turned around to find another girl making her way up the stairs. She had to be a few years older than Katara, but she seemed kind as she smiled at her. “You must be from one of the other houses.”

Katara nodded. “Yes. I’m trying to see my brother, Sokka Amaruq. Can you get him for me?”

She shrugged her shoulder easily. “Sure thing.” The girl reached for the knocker, tapping it against the door once. And again, the eagle mouth opened, repeating the riddle once more. 

Katara watched as the girl stood in silence for a moment before speaking. “You’re footsteps. The more you walk, the more footsteps you would ‘metaphorically’ leave behind.”

It was such a simple answer that Katara thought it couldn’t be right, but the melodic voice spoke once more. “Well reasoned.” 

Katara watched as the door slowly swung open. “Amazing! You must be super smart.”

The girl blushed a little, smiling bashfully at the Gryffindor.  “Well they didn’t put me in Ravenclaw for nothing. Now, wait right here, I’ll get your brother.” 

Katara nodded, watching as the Ravenclaw entered the door, before it closed tightly behind her. She stood at the top of the stairwell for several minutes when she heard fumbling behind the door, before it opened to reveal her brother.  

Sokka was still dressed in his pajamas, his hair so ruffled that very little of it was in his wolf-tail anymore. “Katara? What are you doing here? And more importantly, what are you doing here so _early_. I thought the plan was to sleep in.”

“The plan has changed.” Katara grabbed his hand, dragging the Ravenclaw down the spiral stairs to his dismay. “I need to show you something.”

When they were down the stairs, Katara pulled him into the first unlocked classrooms she could find. She was pleasantly surprised when the room she chose turned out to be a music room. 

Sokka snatched his hand away from her before plopping down into one of the desks. “Well whatever you need to show me better be good. I was having the best dream about a sandwich-”

“I promise this is more important than a sandwich,” Katara sat the white box down, in front of her brother, before removing the lid. 

Sokka looked at the quilt in confusion, his brows knitted together. “Is this from GranGran? I thought she sent you new gloves for Christmas. When did you get this?”

“That’s the thing. It’s not from GranGran. It- It just appeared on my bed this morning,” Katara stared down at the blanket before looking at her brother. “But that’s not the only weird thing. Pick it up.”

Sokka did as she said, gingerly pulling the blanket from its container. As the fabric overlapped his hand, the blanket vanished, taking his covered flesh with it. 

She waited for her brother to freak out like she had, but Sokka simply stared at his missing hands in wonder. “A quilt that’s been bewitched to work as an invisibility cloak. This is amazing! I mean, it had to cost a small fortune to bewitch this-”

“Its mom’s.” She hadn’t meant to just blurt it out, but she didn’t know how else to tell him. Sokka just stared at her, his eyes wide in disbelief. Not knowing what else to say, she pulled out the small note. “It came with this… ”

She handed her brother the paper, watching as he silently read it, anticipating and imagining all the different reactions he would have. 

She never expected him to start laughing. 

Katara frowned at her brother. “What’s so funny?” She doesn’t remember reading anything that was remotely humorous.

“Mom’s funny.” Sokka smiled at the paper. “Invisibility cloaks were banned at Hogwarts in the 19th century, because of students using them to break school rules, but _bewitching_ something to have invisibility capabilities technically isn’t. That’s exploiting a loophole if I’ve ever seen it.”  

Sokka looked up at her from where he was seated. “Seems to be a trend with the women in our family. Always rebelling and such.” 

Katara huffed, sticking her nose in the air. “I’ve never broken a rule a day in my life.”

“What about sneaking out past curfew to have an Agni Kai?” Done with his examination, Sokka placed the quilt back in the box, his hands reappearing. 

“I’m reformed now.” Katara put the lid back on the box, but found herself hesitating to pick it up. “Seriously though, I really don’t want to get in trouble. If the blanket is against school rules maybe I should-”

“Keep it.” Sokka pushed the box fully into her arms. “I told you, technically you’re not breaking any rules. I wouldn’t tell anyone you have it, especially Jee, but if somebody finds out, I’m sure you can make a case for it.”

“Besides.”  Sokka lifted the note in the air. “Random stranger from the note is right. Mom wanted you to have it. If she trusts it with you, you should trust her too. You know, Mom’s a lot like me, she would never do anything to get you in trouble.”

At his words, Katara hugged the box to her chest. Sokka was right, if their mother wanted her to have it, then she would guard it with her life. She looked to her brother, a little teary eyed. “Thanks, Sokka.” 

“I just told you what you already knew.” The two siblings shared a smile, before it was interrupted by Sokka’s stomach growling. 

She rolled her eyes as her brother gave her a sheepish smile. “Now that the blanket situation is handled, maybe we could send for Aang and head down to the dining hall. I’m starved.” 

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother, but got up to head to the owlery. She was sure sending the monk a note would be faster than trying to enter the Hufflepuff’s common room. 

She definitely couldn't wait for someone to let them in. Katara was a touch starved, herself. 

\---

“Wow…”

Katara and Aang stared in wonder at the decorated hall: pine trees covered in golden bubbles, wreaths wrapped and gold and silver ribbons and hundreds of candles casting the room in warm tones of orange as they levitated overhead. 

“It’s absolutely beautiful in here.” Katara agreed with the monk as she simultaneously tried to follow her brother and take in all the decorations. 

It was proving to be quite hard, especially since her brother insisted on running to the tables. The Ravenclaw didn’t have any interest in how the decorations looked; the only thing on his mind was food. 

However, one look at the table and for once, Katara understood her brother’s obsession.

Sprawled along each of the four tables, were copious amounts of food. There were turkeys, ducks and chickens, as far as the eye can see. And for each platter of meat, was a casserole dish full of macarone, dressing, cranberry sauce, greens, corn, gravy, and mashed potatoes. 

Anything you could imagine was presented along the table. 

Katara’s mouth was practically watering at the amount of food at her disposal. She was ready to fill her plate to the brim, grabbing the dish in front of her, when she noticed a wrapping paper covered tube on her plate. 

She picked it up, noticing that there was one at every placemat. “What’s this?”

“It’s a wizard cracker!” Sokka was talking around a mouth full of food. She didn’t even see him make his plate. “You pull the ends and it pops open. They’re always filled with all sorts of knick knacks. Try it.”

Katara did as her brother said, she picked up the tube and and pulled the ends like a piece of candy. Of course, Sokka failed to warn her about the explosion of glitter and confetti as the tube blew open. 

It looked like she was hit with a glitter cannon once all the dust settled. 

Coughing, Katara spit out a mouthful of confetti before noticing the gold crown that now sat on her plate. It was triple the size that the cracker was and yet, it’d somehow been housed inside. It was also heavy where the cracker had been light as a feather. 

In fact, the crown was so heavy, she wondered if it was made of real gold. If so, maybe the jewels embedded in the surface were also real.  

“Um, what’s wizarding chess?” Aang held up a square box that he received from his cracker. Based off the cover art, it appeared to be the same thing as normal chess. 

Katara frowned, she was never quite a fan of chess. Something about spending hours staring at a board was never her definition of fun.

Sokka, on the other hand, looked downright envyus as he stared at the board game. “Ooh, Aang you are so lucky! We _have_ to play a game when we get done eating. You guys will love it!”

Katara was sure she wouldn’t but Sokka was eager for them to play, so they let the Ravenclaw clear a section of the table after their first round of eating. 

As Sokka set up the game, Katara couldn’t help but notice how similar it looked to normal boring chess. She was preparing herself for a level of boredom she only reached in Pathik’s History of Magic lessons, but that was before she saw two pawns go at it like two drunks at a bar. 

Katara stared wide eyed, as a pawn violently beat the opposing one before victoriously throwing it off the board, like some sort of gladiator. 

Maybe wizarding chess was a little more exciting than she expected. 

The more they played, the more enthralled Katara became in the game, and the more green Aang was starting to look. It didn’t take long before the monk was gifting the board to the Amaruq siblings. 

The next hour was spent stuffing their faces with food, playing wizarding chess and opening all the extra wizard crackers on the table. 

Aang was trying to talk Sokka out of feeding a group of white mice from his latest cracker to Hawky, when the Ravenclaw girl from earlier, interrupted their group. 

She smiled kindly at Katara before addressing the boys too. “Hey, you guys playing in the Annual Christmas Quidditch game?

Aang’s brow crickled in confusion. “I didn't know there was an Annual Christmas Quidditch game.”

The girl laughed. “It’s not an official game or anything. It’s just kinda like a Hogwarts tradition. All the kids on break play a game or two. It’s open for everyone whether you play for the house teams or not. That’s how Sokka can play every year.”

“Hey!”

The girl giggled again before turning back to the two first years. “Anyway, we’re meeting on the field in 20. Don’t worry if you don’t have a broom, Roku lets us use the training ones.” 

With her announcement made, the Ravenclaw skipped away to another group of kids, probably to spread the word. 

Sokka grumbled under his breath as he glared at her back. “She thinks just because her team beat mine 118-0 last year that she’ll win again. I’ll show her to underestimate me! Aang, you’re on my team this year. You too, Katara.”

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. “No, thank you. I’d rather not spend the rest of my break with a bruised tailbone. Besides, I barely even know the rules.”

Sokka started grumbling about unreliable siblings. Katara shared an eye roll with Aang. The monk chuckled before aiming a smile at her. “You’ll still come to cheer us on, won't you?”

Katara shook her head. “Actually, I was thinking about going by Iroh’s. I wanted to thank him for making me this sweater.” She lifted her arms to emphasize the gift. 

Sokka looked up from his grumbling, peering at her sweater like he’d just noticed it. “I thought that sweater looked too shoddy to be one of GranGran’s.”

“Hey!” Katara glared at her brother. “I think Iroh did a great job.”

“Debatable. Besides,” Sokka looked at the empty seat at the head table, where the giant usually sat. “I don’t know if it’s safe for you to be near Iroh. I mean, now that we know he’s a Kasai, he obviously can’t be trusted.”

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother’s paranoia. “Don’t be silly, Sokka. Iroh is the same giant we’ve known since the beginning of the year.”

“Well I still don’t like it.” Sokka crossed his arms like a petulant child. “I don’t like the idea of you hanging out with _any_ Kasai.” 

She knew exactly which Kasai he was referring to. It’s not like she made a habit of talking to Azula. 

Katara rolled her eyes. “Honestly Sokka, you bring Zuko up in so many of our conversation. I’m starting to think you have a crush on the prince.”

Sokka sputtered around his mashed potatoes. “I do not have a crush on-on… _Zuko_!” 

“Noted.” Katara wrinkled her nose at the mess her brother just made. “Besides, you don’t have to worry about Zuko. He’s at the Beifongs for Christmas.”

“He told you that?” This time it was Aang’s panicked voice that spoke up. When she looked at him, his head went a little red, as he tried to back track. “I mean, I d-didn’t think you two were that close, sharing holiday plans… and stuff… ”  

Katara groaned, not Aang too. 

“Relax, you two. Toph and I had a bad run in with Azula on the first day of break and she told us.” Katara stood up from the table. “I promise, Zuko and I’s relationship doesn’t go anything past lab partners.” 

It was true.

Her and Zuko kept a strictly professional relationship. Since the Quidditch match, they reframed from meeting anywhere outside the classroom, and most of their conversations were centered around school work or their mutual dislike for Professor Jee. 

All within the parameters of their agreement. 

Of course, there were occasional conversations that veered a little into the personal realm. 

Sometimes when Katara asked Zuko a question, the answer didn’t come from a textbook, but summer warnings against the dangerous wildlife of his summer home. 

He never spoke for very long, but Katara knew that the little information he did share was too much. Because now she knew that he liked spiders, snakes and just about every living thing that can kill you. 

And it made it that much easier to share a little about herself. 

Sometimes she spoke in her native tongue when English words escaped her, and he would ask a question or two about her own culture. Maybe she was a little too willing to answer. 

Still, they were just lab partners, but Katara was more than aware that they were a teetering very close to the forbidden territory of friendship.  

One overly friendly gesture and they would tumble into the place of no return.

Katara shook the thought from her mind, focusing on the conversation at hand. “Anyway, you have nothing to worry about. I’m just going to see Iroh.” 

Sokka huffed. “I guess it doesn’t matter what I think if you’re going to go anyway.” 

“Weren’t you praising my rebellious nature a couple of hours ago?” Katara smirked as she settled the crown atop her head. She looked down at her brother. “If you’re still worried, feel free to come by the hut after your game is done. I’ll be waiting for you.” 

With that, Katara turned on her heels and made her way to the door, head held high like the queen she was. She continued this walk until the chilly air outside made her curl in on herself, trying her best to shield her body from the freezing winds. 

She picked up her pace as she crossed the powdery snow toward the giant’s little cottage. In no time at all, Katara could see a colleum of black smoke blooming from the giant’s chimney, a promise of a toasty inside. 

Pulling her coat a little closer, she wondered up the steps to the door and prepared to knock, when she heard the sound of wood chopping out back. It was a sound she was more than familiar with. 

It was a grueling, but necessary chore if one wanted to survive the winters. Her and Sokka spent many years chopping wood for their own home as children. 

Katara jumped down from the porch. Maybe she could help the giant. It was the least she could do after he knitted her such a lovely sweater. 

Walking around the hut to meet the giant, Katara announced her presence. “Hey Iroh its me-Ah!” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back with an upload! So sorry for the long break, you know how life is. 
> 
> This is part one of winter break. Had to break this chapter into two because the chapter got wayyyy to long (45 pages long). I promise that part two will be uploaded next Friday, I won't leave you guys on a cliffhanger lol. 
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 13: Mirror
> 
> Suddenly, a look of understanding crossed his face. He looked down at her, a mixture of apprehension and curiosity coloring his face. 
> 
> “What do you see?”


	13. Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 13! Big big thanks to my beta reader Carliwrites. <3
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 13 and R&R. I'm like Tinker Bell, I need applause to live (jk...but not really). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

When she ran around the house, she expected to see the giant with a small axe, chopping away. What she saw instead was a large axe, its blade gleaming menacingly in the air and not a wielder in sight. 

It floated in the air, as if possessed by an unknown force. 

Suddenly, the axe swung down and Katara screamed, sure the blade was coming to sever her head, only to hear a loud thunk instead. Confused, she looked through her fingers to see the blade stuck within a stump, two slices of wood on either side. 

“Don’t worry. It’s enchanted.” 

Katara jumped to the side, afraid that it was another possessed blade. Luckily it wasn’t, but she still found herself wide eyed in shock. “Zuko?”

Leaning against a wood fence that marked off the small plot of Iroh’s backyard, stood the prince. His hair hanging freely in his face, tousled and messy like he’d just woken up here and not at the Beifong’s for the Christmas Gala.

He was wearing a grey fleece jacket that hung open to reveal a poorly made maroon sweater, a large Z woven to the front in yellow yarn. 

It was similar to hers, but his had several more holes were the knitter skipped a loop… or six. Not to mention the fact that it was about a size too big, the collar hanging down to reveal the prince’s clavicles. 

It had to be a miracle if he was getting any warmth from the sweater, but Zuko didn’t look the slightest bit cold. In fact, he seemed quite comfortable in the chilly temperatures.

“Looks like Uncle is getting better.” He motioned to her sweater, peeking through her partially fasten coat. 

“Oh, um, yeah. It’s warm and, ah- What are you doing here?” The question was falling from her lips before she could stop it. 

Her mind just wouldn’t let her stand there and have a normal conversation when the prince wasn’t even supposed to be here. 

“What do you mean, what am I doing here?” Zuko lifted his good eyebrow at her. “This is  _ my _ uncle’s house. I’m supposed to be asking  _ you _ that.” 

He had a point.

Katara tried to clarify. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that Azula said you guys were going to the Beifong’s for a Christmas party, so I thought-” 

“-I would be there.” She nodded, glad that Zuko seemed to understand. 

He shrugged, using his wand to levitate a piece of wood onto the stump. “I’m not really into parties and galas. I’d rather spend my day chopping wood at Uncle’s than entertaining self important snobs.”

Katara smiled at the way he described the pure-bloods. It reminded her of a certain Hufflepuff. 

She cleared her throat, more for her sake than to get Zuko’s attention. “Speaking of Iroh, where is he? I wanted to thank him for the sweater.”

“He went into town for a couple of errands. He probably won’t be back for another hour.” Zuko motioned to the axe, and a second later, it brought itself down in a deadly arch. 

Katara jumped as the piece of wood splintered perfectly into two pieces. She watched the axe warily as it lifted itself back up to float menacingly in the air once again. 

She could hear Zuko chuckle to her side, amused by her paranoia. “You don’t have to wait here until Uncle gets back.”

He waved his wand again. This time, causing the axe to gently lower itself back to the stump, before turning back towards her. “I’ll tell him you came by. Besides, today is Christmas, I’m sure you’d rather be with your brother. You know, with it being a holiday of bonding and…  stuff.”  

Katara snorted, finding it easier to talk to the prince when there wasn’t a sentient axe floating around. “I could say the same for you.”

Zuko brow creased in confusion “How so?”

“Well, shouldn’t you be with your uncle.” Katara crossed her arms at the prince. “I wouldn’t count cutting wood all alone on Christmas very… Christmas-y.” 

“I don’t plan on just cutting wood.” Zuko looked thoughtful for a minute. “I’ll probably read for the rest of the day.”

That sounded incredibly boring. 

Katara looked at the prince worriedly. “That can’t be what you plan on doing. It’s Christmas, Zuko.”

“I think my plans for today sound perfect.” He crossed his arms defensively across his chest. “How about you share your great plans for today?”

Katara was more than ready to tell the prince all the fun things listed on her roster, before realizing that she had none. Besides visiting the giant, the only thing she had planned was to stuff as much food in her mouth before curfew and maybe do a little research before bed. 

The Slytherin smiled at her triumphantly. “Just as I thought, your Christmas plans aren’t very different from- umph!” 

A ball of snow collided with the prince’s face. Zuko sputtered for a moment before wiping the compacted snow away. By the time he was done, Katara had already scooped up another handful of snow. 

Zuko glared at her. “What are you doing- umph!” 

“Fine, you’re right. I don’t have anything Christmas-y planned for the day, but,” Katara smiled down at the prince. “Neither do you. So I thought what’s more Christmas-y than a snowball fight.” 

Zuko looked very unimpressed by her suggestion. “I don’t remember signing up for a snowball fight. And, if you recall, I was quite content with my plans.”

Katara just sniffed the air haughtily. “Oh I get it, you’re afraid to lose. Understandable, I  _ am _ the queen of snowball fights, right along with my title as the pillow fighting queen… It’s how I got this crown.”

“You got that crown from a wizard cracker- umph!” 

Katara outright laughed as Zuko’s face was covered with snow for the third time, until he wiped the snow away, revealing a dangerous glint in his eyes. The kind that had her fight or flight bells ringing. 

“Fine.” Zuko emphasized the F with a flare of orange flames. “You want a snowball fight? Well, you’re on, Gryffindor… That crown is mine.”

Suddenly, snow was being chucked in every which way. 

Katara knew, from the very beginning, that she had a clear advantage over the prince. She’d spent her whole life in the snow and had the snowball making technique down to a T.  

Zuko didn’t stand a chance. 

Or at least he wouldn’t, if he wasn’t making himself such a hard target to hit. Somehow, even in the snow, Zuko managed to be quick on his feet, proving much harder to hit than he was standing still. Not even half of her snowballs were landing. 

Lucky for her, the prince didn’t make snowballs half as good as as he dodged.  

Zuko’s snowballs didn’t really look like snowballs, but more like misshapen clumps of snow. Maybe, if they weren’t so poorly made, his snowballs might actually hit her, instead of disintegrating into a shower of powdery fluff midway to their destination. 

It didn’t take long for Zuko to come to the same conclusion. Soon after, he abandoned snowball making for an empty pail that Iroh usually used to feed the birds. 

The pail proved to be an effective scoop, Zuko chucking buckets of snow at her and causing Katara to go on the defense. 

As she was running around Iroh’s hut and trying to dodge buckets of snow from the prince, Katara realized just how much fun she was having. 

Thinking back, she couldn’t remember the last time someone, other than Sokka, played with her like this. Not since her mother’s death, before all the children in the tribe thought magic was evil.

Playing like this again, it felt like the Christmases when her mother was around.

Unfortunately, reminiscing about the past left her guard down, and Zuko took full advantage. Katara didn’t even see him abandon the pale before he tackled her from the back, effectively hurdling both of them into the snow.

A struggle in the frosty fluff ensued as they both fought for the upper hand. In the end, it was Katara who got the advantage. She wasn’t proud with how she’d done it, sitting on the prince maybe a low move, but it was effective. 

A tried and true method. 

“Looks like I’m the queen after all.” Her crown had come off in the scuffle, but it was within reach. Katara placed it back on her head as she smiled down at the prince. “Acknowledge your queen and I’ll get up.”

Zuko continued his struggle to freedom, but her legs were successfully pinning his arms in place. He glared at her from his position. “I’ll never say it… Do your worst.”

“My worst, huh?” Katara looked at her hands. She hadn’t tried to reach for the raw and unpredictable magic that flowed through her since coming to Hogwarts; her wand was just a more reliable channel for her magic. 

But right now, It felt like her magic was thrumming under her skin, telling her that if she called on it today, it would surely answer. So, she took a chance and lifted her hands in the air. 

Slowly, the snow pulled itself from the earth and congealed in her hands, controlled by her own doing. As the snow gathered, it started to form into a massive ball of snow.  

Zuko was also watching the ball as it formed. His eyes growing wide as they stared at the massive ball, before flitting to Katara. “I didn’t know we were allowed to use magic.”

“As queen, I’ve just decided we can.” Katara grinned down at the third year, the giant ball of snow ready at her command. “Any last words?”

Zuko thought it over for a moment, before grinning back at her. “Do  _ you _ have any last words?”

Katara brow crinkled in confusion at his words, until a blaze of fire shot from his mouth. She watched in slow motion as the plume of fire hit her giant snowball, the two elements colliding in a cloud of steam.

What didn’t evaporate, fell on her head like a bucket of watery slush. Katara squeaked as everything from her shoulders down was hit with an ice cold assault. 

She was completely drenched. 

Then she heard it, a raspy chuckle that bubbled into an all out laugh. She parted her now soaking wet hair from her eyes, to make sure her ears hadn't deceived her. 

But they hadn’t because staring up at her, where he was still pinned to the ground, was Zuko full on belly  _ laughing _ .  

It was such an unexpected sound that Katara found herself riveted by the noise. She’d never imagined something as carefree as laughter could come from the guarded prince. 

As her silence continued, Zuko became aware of his own laughter. Immediately, he quieted, his cheeks flushing a deep red. 

The air grew quiet and awkward as they both just stared at each other. Katara liked the raspy laughing much more than this awkward silence… so she shoved a handful of snow down the prince’s sweater. 

Zuko yelped in surprise as the snow touched his skin and their struggle started a new. He was finally able to knock her from atop of him and he used his new found freedom to return the favor. 

As Katara struggled against fists full of snow, she was greeted by Zuko’s raspy laughter and she couldn’t help but release her own joyous giggles. By the time Iroh returned, both Zuko and Katara were drenched to the bone and shivering from melted snow. 

Iroh smiled at the pair. “Miss Katara, what a pleasant surprise! I see you got my present. I hope it’s to your liking.”

“It’s perfect!” Katara held out her arms to show the giant how well the garment wore, the movement causing the seam under her armpit to pop open. 

Zuko gave a snort that quickly turned into a yelp, as Katara forced a handful of snow down the front of his sweater. He retaliated by shoving her snow filled hood over her head. 

“Alright you two, enough of that. Inside before either of you catch a cold.” Iroh was chiding them, but he was smiling as he motioned them in. “I’ll light the fire and put on some tea, then we can share what I got from the market.”

Iroh held up a small cardboard box to the two children. Katara wondered what was inside as he sat it on the dining table, but Iroh didn’t give her much time to ponder as he pushed her behind a room divider with a bundle of clothes. “You’ll feel much warmer if you get out of those wet clothes and into something dry.”

Safely behind the divider, Katara examined the clothes Iroh lent her, a sweatshirt and faded pair of pajama pants. They were much too small to be the giants, so they were likely some of Zuko’s. 

She tried not to think too much about wearing the prince’s clothes, even as her cheeks burned red. What was she even embarrassed about? She’d worn Sokka’s clothes plenty of times. 

Quickly changing into the clothes, she walked from behind the room divider, and for the first time, took in the interior’s appearance. 

It seemed Iroh tried his hand at decorating for the holidays. There were red streamers and ribbons hanging from every nook and cranny of the hut. 

He even had a few balloons littering the floor where Zuko sat, the prince already changed into new clothes and cuddled around the fire in one of the many blankets and pillows sprawled in front of the fireplace. 

It took her a moment to realize that this was probably Zuko’s makeshift bed for break. 

When she continued to just stand there, Zuko freed one of his arms from his cocoon, just to throw a blanket at her. “Come sit by the fire. I think your lips are blue.”

“My lips are  _ not _ blue.” Katara glared at the prince, but did as he said, wrapping the blanket around herself before sitting on the pallet. “I’m quite experienced with the cold-”

“Miss Katara your lips are practically blue, please have some tea.” Iroh pushed a cup of tea in her hand. Katara glared at the giant for a second, but quickly got over it as she tasted the tea. 

She really liked chai tea.

Katara took another sip of her drink, training her eyes on the box from earlier. “What did you get in town, Iroh?” 

“It’s a cinnamon tea cake, specialty of the Jasmine Dragon.” He opened the tiny cardboard box to reveal a yellow cake with brown sugar baked on top. Iroh smiled at his Nephew. “Zuko’s not a fan of sweets, but he likes this one. So every year, I get him one for-”   

“Christmas.” Zuko cut his uncle off while giving the giant a meaningful look that she couldn’t quite decipher. “It’s our own little holiday tradition.”

“Yes, just a little… Christmas tradition.” Iroh looked at his nephew with confused eyes before suddenly perking up. “We also have  _ another _ tradition. Miss Katara have you ever played Pai Sho?”

Zuko glared at the giant. “Oh no you don’t, old man. We are not playing-”

“What’s Pai Sho?” Katara talked over the prince, her interest peaked. 

Zuko glared at her, the opposite of the giant’s ecstatic smile. “Why it’s the best board game known to man! Would you like to learn?” 

Katara could see the prince silently begging her to decline. He looked so desperate that she considered denying the old man. 

Then again, Pai Sho might actually be the greatest board game and she would be missing out all because Zuko didn’t like it. She’d already been proven wrong once today on the entertainment value of board games. 

Katara smiled up at the giant. “I’m game.”

“Ah ha! A wonderful choice.” Iroh practically jumped up from the table as he collected his Pai Sho set and began arranging the pieces on the dining table. 

Zuko sat beside her, watching the old man’s antics warily. “Now you’ve done it.”

Katara pursed her lips at the boy. “I’ve done nothing. I’m sure Pai Sho is quite the game… right?”

Zuko didn’t answer her. He simply sat back by the fire on a pallet of covers and pillows. He shot her a pitying look, before picking up a book. 

She ignored the dread that was building in her tummy.

Iroh settled at the table, giving her his biggest grin. “Alright Miss Katara, let’s get started.” 

\---

Pai Sho was  _ nothing _ like wizarding chess. 

The pieces didn’t fight or throw each other off the board. They were just white playing pieces with a multitude of names and symbols, and Katara couldn’t tell what one did over the other. 

And it's been her turn for the last ten minutes, but every time she tried to move a piece Iroh would hum in that ‘bad move’ tone. It was driving her crazy. 

Deciding to just go for it, Katara lifted her bamboo piece and moved it forward. Iroh studied her move for a few seconds before letting out one of his disappointed hums. 

“That’s it, I’m done!” She stood up from the table so fast her chair fell back.

“But Miss Katara-”

“No buts, Iroh! We’ve been sitting here for nearly half an hour and we’ve only had four turns each. Not to mention the fact that I have  _ no _ idea what’s going on.” 

Katara glared at the board and the seemingly random pieces that accompanied it. “Wizarding Chess is a much better game.”

She ignored the giant’s wounded face as she stomped off, sitting down by the fireplace and stealing one of the blankets from Zuko’s pallet. The prince glanced up at her from over his book and she swore he was laughing at her. 

She pouted at the fire. “Not a word, Zuko.”

“I didn’t say anything. I’m just reading.” He held up his book as proof, but she could hear the amusement curling around her words. “But I did try and warn you.” 

She thought about throwing a pillow at him, just to remind him who was still queen of pillow fights, but she decided against it. Just because he  _ did _ warn her. 

Katara huffed as she laid back on the covers, so she had to look up at Zuko. “What are you reading anyway.”

He glanced down at her, before raising his book from his lap, so she could see the cover. “It’s called  _ Love Amongst Dragons _ .”

“You like… romance books?” Katara wrinkled her nose in amusement. “Never would’ve guessed.”

Zuko cheeks flared a cherry red at the accusation. “It’s not a romance book!”

“It’s called  _ LOVE Amongst Dragons _ ! How is it not a  _ romance _ novel.” Zuko just continued to glare at her. Katara raised her hands above her shoulders. “Fine, if it’s not a romance novel, what’s it about?”

“Well,” Zuko went a shade deeper as he idly played with the page corners. “It’s about two dragons… who fall in love-”

Katara snorted. “I knew it! It’s totally a romance novel!” 

“No it’s not! It has  _ some _ romance in it, but it has other stuff too like adventure, mystery, action.” When Katara still regarded him with raised eyebrows, he all but pouted. “It’s the best book ever written. You just have to read it.”

“Maybe.” Katara didn’t understand Zuko’s denial, she thought it was kind of cute that the prince was a hopeless romantic, but she also took great amusement in his embarrassment. 

She was getting ready to poke fun at him a little more when a great idea came to her. “You should read it to me.” 

When Zuko just gave her a confused look, she pointed back to the book. “This book, read a little and I can judge for myself if it’s the best book of all time.” 

“I got that you meant this book.” Zuko rolled his eyes at her. “I’m just trying to figure out why I have to read it aloud to you. Can’t you read it?” 

It did sound like a peculiar request when repeated back to her. 

“Well yeah I could read it. It’s just, Sokka used to read to me a lot when I was a little younger.” She shrugged a little self consciously, refusing to meet the prince’s eye as she continued. “He would make it really dramatic, you know. So I stayed interested… ”

Katara petered out, her cheeks turning pink as she internally cursed herself for sharing that random snippet of her childhood. Zuko didn’t care what here brother did, something that was becoming painfully obvious as the minutes of silence increased with neither of them saying a word.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Katara was getting ready excuse herself to the stove, where Iroh was busying himself after the game, when Zuko suddenly spoke up. 

“I’m not doing any dramatic voices.” 

Katara looked up at the prince as he flipped to the first page. She stared at him for a moment, in shock, before deciding not to show her surprise with his compliance. 

It would just make things awkward again. 

Katara pulled her blanket tighter around herself. “How will I stay interested?”

“The book is interesting on its own. Now be quiet.” Zuko paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before reading the opening lines. “Long ago, before the world as we knew it, there was a mighty dragon emperor… ” 

Every word that the prince read pulled her further and further into the world of dragons, spirits, pixies and unicorns. They were hardly through the first chapter and Katara had to admit, the book was good. 

Even more surprising was how well Zuko read. He didn’t do any of the dramatics she was used to, but his voice had a cadence that made the story flow. She found herself hanging off his every word and anticipating the next.

By the time Zuko finished the first chapter, she found herself enthralled with the story as she learned more about the dragon emperor and the world that surrounded him. 

The emperor seemed so cold in the beginning of the chapter, and yet, she found her opinion softening towards the end when the dragon stopped the abuse of one of his servants. 

Katara was beginning to think there was more to his character then she first perceived. 

She’d just convince Zuko to read the second chapter, when the prince was interrupted by a knock at the door. The two students shared a look, confused at who it could be.

“Coming!” Iroh moved from the oven, wiping his hands on a towel before opening the door and revealing a soaking wet and grass covered Sokka. 

For a second, Katara wondered what her brother was doing in the hut, especially with his newfound distrust of Iroh, before realizing he was there to pick her up.

Iroh smiled down at the boy. “Sokka, what a surprise! Can I interest you in some cake and tea to warm up?” The giant gestured to the table, where the cake box still sat. “And I have dumplings coming out in 15.”

Any other time, Sokka would be fully captivated at the mere sight of food, but right now, he wasn’t focused on the cake at all. He was too busy staring at something to the left of the table. 

It took her a moment to realize he was staring at her… and Zuko, bundled up by the fireplace. She could only imagine where her brother’s mind was taking him. 

Katara quickly stood up from pallet, dropping her blanket. Sokka’s eyes grew bigger as he took in her new outfit. She suddenly remembered that she was wearing an old set of the prince clothes. 

Great.

It didn’t take long before Sokka’s surprise turned to anger. His eyes grew cold as ice as he regarded the giant and his nephew. “I think I’ll pass on the cake. Katara and I need to be leaving. Aang is waiting for us in the dining hall.”

“Of course.” Iroh looked disappointed at the rejected invitation, but didn’t argue with the Ravenclaw. “Nephew, fetch Miss Katara her things. They should be dry now.”

Zuko looked between Sokka and Iroh for a moment. She didn’t know what conclusion the Slytherin came to, but he threw a glare at her brother before following his uncle’s orders. 

Sokka glared at the Slytherin’s back in retaliation before turning back to Katara. “I’ll be waiting outside. Don’t take too long.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond before walking out of the hut and slamming the door. 

“And Uncle says I’m a grouch.” Zuko walked from across the hut, handing her a folded stack of her clothes. She was surprised to find them dry just like Iroh said they would. 

When she had all her clothes safely in hand, Zuko doubled back for her crown. She hadn’t even realized that she wasn’t wearing it. 

He tried to place the crown on top of her clothes, but Katara stopped him. Tsking at the prince. “Your queen asks for you to place it on her head, where it belongs.”

She hoped a little humor would bring back the smiling prince she’d spent the day with. To her delight it worked, Zuko snorting at her demand. “Weren’t you listening to the book? Keep on this route and you’ll end up a mean old emperor.” 

Still, he placed the crown on her head. Katara tried not to blush at the way his fingers accidentally brushed her temples. Embarrassed, she turned her back towards the Slytherin under the pretense of asking for her coat. Zuko rolled his eyes as he obliged her demands. 

With her jacket secure, she turned around to face the prince, speaking quietly so only he could hear. “But I think there is more to the prince than just the cold and dangerous dragon everyone takes him for. There’s kindness there, too.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Katara knew they were too much for ‘just lab partners’. She could feel the familiar imbalance she felt whenever they got too close to the line between lab partners and friends. 

Everything about today was too much, too friendly, but what she was doing was even worse. She was verbalizing it and something about that made it feel too real. She could see it in the way Zuko looked at her. 

He felt it too. 

“Katara!” Sokka’s muffled yells rang through the door as he pounded on the outside of the wood. “What’s taking so long! Hurry up!”

Katara yelled right back. “I’m coming Sokka, just give me a minute!” 

“You got two!”

Katara thought about running outside and giving Sokka a good kick in the butt for being such a jerk, but that would probably take up all two of her minutes.

She looked back to the prince, hoping to catch his eye, but it was too late. The moment was shattered. 

Zuko looked away, stepping back and out of her personal space. “He was an emperor, the dragon. He was an emperor, not a prince.”

“Oh.” Katara looked at the prince for second, before looking away, too. “I guess he was.”

She sighed, turning to Iroh and offering him the best bow she could with an arm full of clothes and a crown on her head. “Thanks for the sweater Iroh, and for letting me be apart of your Christmas this year. I had a great time.”

The giant offered her a wide smile. “Ah Miss Katara, it has been lovely having you here for this special day. I have never seen this hut, nor my Nephew, so lively before. I really must thank  _ you _ .”

“Uncle!” Zuko went a little pink at his uncle’s remark, but the old man only smiled back at his Nephew with a face of innocence. Katara chuckled as the Slytherin mumbled something under his breath about ‘sly old dogs’.

Katara smiled as she watched the two Kasais go back and forth in the toasty little hut. Something about it reminded her of Christmases with her mother, laying by the fireplace. 

Maybe that’s why she felt so warm.

\---

“You are such a jerk!” Katara screamed as she hurled snowball after snowball at her brother. 

Sokka glared at her from behind a tree, where he’d taken refuge. “How was I supposed to act! First you tell me Zuko isn’t here, then I find you two snuggling in front of the fireplace like a couple from a hallmark card!”

Katara’s face blazed red at his description. She renewed her snowball throwing with even more vigor. “We weren’t snuggling! We were just sitting by the fire!”

“Yeah, by the fire snuggling-Ah!” Sokka jumped back as the tree shook violently from the giant snowball Katara just threw at it. “Um, Katara, I feel like I should remind you that murdering me will only get you placed in prison… and make GranGran really disappointed.”

Mentioning her grandmother was enough to calm some of the anger in her gut. Katara lowered her hands, letting the massive snowball she was creating fall back toward the earth. 

Sokka sighed in relief as he came from behind the tree. “Great, now that I know my life isn’t in danger we can talk about this thing between you and fire boy.”

Katara huffed, stomping her way toward the castle. “There’s nothing between us Sokka, we’re lab partners.” The Ravenclaw had made sure of that by knocking on the door. 

“I don’t believe you.” Sokka grabbed her wrist, turning her around so she faced him. “There’s something more.”

“What if there is Sokka!” Katara snatched her hand back, already fed up with this conversation. “What would be so bad if Zuko and I were friends? He hasn’t done anything bad to me! He saved my life and helps me through potions. He  _ believed me _ about Jee.”

Sokka was looking at her like she’d lost her mind. “He’s a Slytherin! He’s a Kasai, do you need another reason to not be his friend? Listen to yourself Katara!”

“I am listening to myself, but are you listening to  _ me _ ?” She stared at her brother, pleading with him. “Sokka trust me. You said you would trust me.”

“I do Katara,” Sokka pulled her into a gentle hug. “But I never said I trusted him. He may have saved your life, but don’t let him fool you. He’s still a Slytherin and he’ll turn on you whenever it’s most convenient. Don’t ever think that he feels the same way as you.”

She remembered the way Zuko stepped away from her, how he subtly denied the obvious friendship brewing between them. 

It made Sokka’s words sting a little more.

Katara broke away from her brother’s hug, sensing that this was the end of their conversation, he let her go. They walked back to the castle in silence. When they made it to the foyer, Katara walked in the opposite direction of the dining hall. 

“Hey,” Sokka grabbed her hand, temporarily stopping her. “Where are you going? Food is this way.”

“I think I’m calling it a night.” Katara felt bad for the way his face slumped in disappointment. She knew it was their first Christmas together in two years and Katara was cutting it short over a petty argument. 

Still, she felt her decision was for the best. Katara wouldn’t be any fun to be around anyway, she was in a bad mood and the Ravenclaw was half to blame. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She threw her brother a quick wave before pulling her hand free and heading toward her dorm.

When she made it to the commons room, she found it empty and a little chilly. She tightened her coat before starting on the fire. A little warmth would do the room and herself wonders. 

She placed a few logs in the fireplace before casting a fire spell on the wood. Katara realized her mistake when the logs froze solid. 

She groaned. “Why does it always do that?”

Frustrated, Katara tightened her coat again, deciding to skip the fire and simply head to bed. 

Back in her drafty dorm, she dressed in a set of pajamas and laid in her bed, hoping to fall asleep soon enough. Sadly, sleep didn’t come as easily as she hoped.

She was just too worked up. 

Realizing sleep wasn’t going to be in her foreseeable future, Katara decided to get a little reading done instead. She went to her desk, where her research was scattered around lazily. 

So far, she hadn’t made much progress over break. 

Grabbing a couple of books from the desk, Katara brought them to her bed, then commenced to flip through each one. Her eyes were honed for any word resembling Bumi, but just like all the books before, it wasn’t there. 

The lack of progress wasn’t doing anything to improve her mood.

When she’d flipped through everyone of her books, Katara flopped back on her bed with a groan. “For La’s sake Bumi, where are you? Knowing my luck, you’re probably somewhere in the forbidden book section.” 

Hidden in the one place she couldn’t go. 

Katara sighed. “If I was invisible, I could get in and out, no problem.” The words hung in the air for a few moments, Katara mindlessly staring at the canopy above her bed, when the reality of her words hit her. 

She smacked herself on the forehead. “Wow I’m dense.”

Jumping out of the bed, she made her way to the trunk, where she’d stored her mother’s quilt. Carefully, she pulled it out of its confines, staring at the familiar pattern before throwing it over her head. Immediately, she felt the weight of the blanket wrap around her like a cocoon, safe and secure. 

She looked toward the mirror above her desk, finding nothing in its reflection. Katara was truly invisible. 

Hidden from sight, Katara made the familiar trek through the icy commons room and out the portrait of the Fat Lady. The further she got from her dorm, the harder her heart hammered against her ribcage. She hadn’t roamed the dark halls since her Agni Kai with Azula. 

It was kind of exciting. 

Seeing how much time she’d spent at the library in the past month, it took her no time at all to make it to her destination, and she didn’t even run into Shangren or Ms. Cabbages. Katara supposed even the cranky old caretaker took Christmas off. 

Once she made it to the library’s big double doors she looked both ways, making sure that the halls were empty before pushing them open, just enough to slip inside. 

Safely in the haven of books and away from immediate danger, Katara lowered the blanket so that only her head was visible, allowing herself to see a little more clearly. 

She wondered towards the back, to the Restricted Books. Quite easily, she lifted the red rope from its hook and simply walked in. Katara turned, placed the hook back in its holder and turned toward the books. 

Katara chuckled as she stared at all the books. “I can’t believe that worked.” 

She really had expected that breaking into the Restricted Book Section would be much harder. “I guess I should count myself lucky. Better to just do what I came for and leave as soon as possible.”

Even with that in mind, she had no idea where to start. Just like the general library, there didn’t seem to be any form or organization, so she went with her tried and true technique of picking a book by random. 

She chose one with a navy spine and silver embroidery. The book was quite heavy as she tried to pull it from the shelf, but with a little maneuvering, she was able to get it down and opened. 

Not a second after she did, a blood curdling scream echoed around the library. Katara hands shot to her ears, dropping the book, as she tried in vain to block out the noise. 

It took her several seconds to realize the scream was coming from the book. 

Diving for the fallen object, Katara slammed the pages shut, but it did nothing to stop the continuous scream. Even worse, Katara swore she heard footsteps coming her way. She wasn’t going to stay long enough to find out. 

Katara stuffed the book back on the shelf where she’d found it, then threw her mother’s blanket back over her head and made a mad dash for the door. 

No sooner had she made it to the entrance, did the heavy oak burst open to reveal Shangren with a lantern in hand. He was dressed in his pajamas, wrinkled and rumpled, proof that he’d just ran out of bed. 

The caretaker stood in the doorway, his eyes swiveling around to the person who’d woke him from his sleep this Christmas night. Katara thanked both Tui and La for her invisibility as she ducked under his arm and out the door.

In the hallway, Katara ran and ran and ran, refusing to stop until the shrieking was nothing more than a faint sound and her legs were nothing but jelly. Sweaty and exhausted, Katara pulled the quilt off her head so she could breathe a little easier and take in her surroundings. 

It didn’t take long for her to realize she was lost. While Katara had become very familiar with the paths to her most frequented places, she was still unfamiliar with the vast majority of the castle. 

It looked like she was in one of those sections.   

“Are you sure someone was in the restricted section?” Katara froze as Jee’s voice floated eerily through the air. 

Shangren’s voice echoed after Jee’s, the caretaker sounding even closer. “I’m certain! A book that heavy doesn’t just fall from the shelf. Someone was there and I came and got you as soon as I could.”

“Well.” Now Jee’s voice sounded as if he was just down the hall. “Whoever it was, they couldn’t have gone far. We’ll catch them.”

If Katara thought she was nervous earlier, her heart was practically beating out of her chest now. How did Shangren catch up to her so fast and how was she going to get out of this? Katara could see a faint glow of orange down the hall, proof that the pair was just around the corner. 

They wouldn’t be able to see her, but with the hallway being so narrow, they were bound to run into her. Katara was invisible, not intangible. 

She was trapped. 

Panicked, Katara looked back and forth between the approaching teacher, but she couldn’t see a way out. She was ready to accept her fate, when a hand suddenly covered her mouth, pulling her back against a solid chest. 

“Shh, don’t scream.” If the hand wasn’t over her mouth, Katara was sure she would have woken the entire school with how loud she screamed, instead, it came as a barely there muffle. The voice huffed angrily behind her. “What about  _ don’t _ scream did you miss?”

Katara thought about screaming again, just to spite her attacker, but stopped herself from doing it. Mostly because the voice was one she’d become quite familiar with over the day. 

“Are you done.” Seeing as she couldn’t talk, the Gryffindor nodded her head. “Good follow me.” 

The hand that was covering her face fell, grabbing her hand and leading her to a barely noticeable door right behind her. They slid into the room, just as Jee and Shangren rounded the corner. 

They stood several moments in silence, waiting as the footsteps came closer and closer until they passed. They both let out a sigh of relief. 

Now that they were no longer in danger, Katara turned around to face her attacker, not quite shocked to see him in the dark castle halls. It’s one of the reasons they’d become so well acquainted. 

“Zuko, What are you doing out here?”

The Slytherin raised his good eyebrow at her. “I could ask you the same thing. You on your way to another Agni Kai?”

Katara huffed at the prince. “I’ll have you know I had a very good reason for sneaking out.  You see, I really needed this… book, so I snuck into the library and found the book, except it turned out that it wasn’t. In fact, it turned out to be the type of book that screams. I didn’t even know books did that! They certainly don’t where I’m from.”

Zuko let out a cough that she was sure was actually a laugh at her expense. She glared at the prince as she wrapped up her story. “Then next thing I know Shangren was after me. Then  _ Jee _ was after me and I was soon to be toast until you came and- Wait a minute, how did you know it was me? I had on my invisibility quilt.” 

She pointed to her missing shoulders, where the quilt was draped, just to prove her point. 

Zuko smirked as he pointed to her face “I think your invisibility blanket only works if you’re covered. It’s pretty hard to miss a floating head.”

“It’s a quilt, not a blanket.” Katara blushed at his reasoning, she forgot that she’d pulled the quilt off her head. She glanced back at the prince. “Well what about you? Why are you sneaking around so late?”

“Oh, me? Um, nothing really…” He shrugged his shoulders in the awkward way people did when they  _ weren’t _ doing nothing. “I just wanted to, uh, get away from Uncle for a bit. You won’t believe the way he snores…”

“Uh, huh,” She didn’t believe him for one second. It was obvious he was trying to hide something, but she wasn’t sure what. “Seems to me you were doing more than nothing- Oh, wait!” 

Katara leaned into the prince’s space. “I bet you’re meeting up with someone? Like the night I was supposed to have my Agni Kai with Azula? Is it the mystery girl you wouldn’t tell me about last time?” 

Zuko lit up as red at a Christmas ball, his ears beginning to steam. “What, O-of course not!” But it was too late, he’d told her all she needed to know. 

He was definitely meeting up with someone. 

She hadn’t seen anyone in the hallway as she ran through the halls. Maybe shel was already here. Katara didn’t know why, but she wanted to see the girl that made Zuko want to sneak out. 

Katara was sure she couldn’t make a snowball as good as her. 

Examining the room, Katara realized that they had to be in some kind of storage room. There were desks and chairs stacked along the wall covered in a thick layer of dust. Anything that wasn’t covered in dust, was covered by thin white sheets.

She looked on either side of the prince, looking for suspicious movement when Zuko grabbed her shoulders, stopping her search. Now, his ears were full on steaming. “I told you last time, I’m not meeting with a girl. It’s not that type of person.”

“What type of person is it then?” Katara shook herself from the prince’s grasp, moving around the dusty furniture. Suddenly an idea struck her, causing her to look back at the prince with wide eyes. “Wait is it… a boy? I didn’t mean to assume-”

“What no!” Zuko was blazing red now, whistling like a teapot. He covered his face in embarrassment. “It’s not a boy or any kind of romantic person okay! Why do you care so much?”

Katara shrugged. “I guess I’m just nosy is all.” She moved further into the room, until she stood in front of a large framed mirror. It was beautiful, the intricacy of the gilded frame gleaming in the dark room. 

It wasn’t as dirty as the rest of the objects in the room, but it still had a little dust still on its surface. Katara used her hand to gently wipe away a small window, smiling when she saw her portrait reflected back at her. 

Then the reflection slowly changed, her image shifting and melding into something else. When the mirror settled, Katara’s reflection appeared on its surface once more, but this time, there was another figure standing beside her. 

Katara gasped, stumbling back into one of the desks, both it and herself tumbling to the ground. The commotion caught Zuko’s attention, the prince running over to help her up, his voice laced with concern. “Katara!”

But she could hardly focus on the prince with the kind blue eyes staring back at her. “This- this can’t be possible.” Her voice felt thick and her limbs to heavy, but she couldn’t look away from the person staring back at her. 

Zuko looked at the turmoil on her face, before following her line of sight to the gold framed mirror. Suddenly, a look of understanding crossed his face. He looked down at her, a mixture of apprehension and curiosity coloring his face. “What do you see?”

“I-” The tears she was trying so hard to keep in, finally rolled down her cheeks. Her throat felt too think to get the words out. 

“Katara please.” Zuko grabbed her chin, gently pulling her face to look at his. She was confused by the intense look on his face. “I need you to tell me what you see in that mirror.” 

“I see-” Katara pulled away from the prince, turning back toward the figure in the mirror. She pulled her blanket further around her shoulders. “I see my mother.”

He was quiet for a minute, both of them just staring into the mirror. When he finally spoke, his voice didn’t sound as strong as usual. It shook as he spoke. “You see  _ your  _ mother?”

Katara nodded as she moved further away from prince and toward the mirror. She laid her hand on its surface, watching as her mother did the same. 

She could hear Zuko coming closer, but he didn’t touch her this time. He seemed more interested in whatever he was seeing in the mirror. “Your mother, she’s-” 

“Dead.” Katara ignored the way the prince flinched as she brushed a hand over her mother’s smiling reflection. It was a far cry from the look of terror that stole her mother’s face in the last seconds of her life. 

For a moment her tears grew bitter as she remembered that day. The reflection frowned ever so slightly. “She was murdered by Death Eaters when I was six… They killed her right in front of me.”

She turned her head a fraction, just enough to see the prince. “Is your mother-”

“I-I don’t know.” His voice sounded so small as he replied that she almost hated that she’d asked. “My mother, she- disappeared, when I was younger. It’s like one moment she was there and then she wasn’t. She… vanished the day before Christmas.”

Zuko continued to stare at the mirror, even as his voice grew thick. “I’d hoped that some part of this was real. That we were seeing each other, but if you can see your mom and she’s… then mine must be-”

“You shouldn’t put too much weight into a simple mirror, Zuko.” 

Both teens whipped around at the sudden voice, their wands drawn, but they quickly put them down when they realized who they were pointing them at. 

Headmaster Roku was leaning against one of the covered desks in the room. Zuko was the first to speak. “Headmaster… I- didn’t see you there.”

“That’s because I covered my head.” Katara was relieved to see the old man smiling at the two of them. “Miss Katara isn’t the only one who can make herself invisible.”

“Headmaster,” Zuko looked hesitant at Roku. “You said that I shouldn’t put too much weight into the mirror. Does that mean-”

“I’m sorry, I can not say for certain if your mother is alive or not.” The old man sadly glanced at the boy before gazing at the mirror. “What you have discovered is the Mirror of Erised. It shows the looker their deepest wants and desires.”

Roku looked at the two students. “You both have lost greatly and see those which are gone, but what it shows is neither truth nor reality. Men and women twice wiser and older than you two combined, have wasted away in front of that mirror.”

Katara knew what the Headmaster had to say was true. She could spend the rest of eternity staring at her mother’s smiling face, pretending that she wasn’t ruthlessly taken from her. She expected, Zuko felt the same. 

Roku clapped his hands together, knocking Katara out of her own head and to the old man in front of her. “Now that that’s settled, let's focus on your punishments!”

Both of the students sputtered at Headmaster’s sudden change in topic. “What!”

Roku rubbed his beard. “Well there must be some kind of punishment, since Miss Amaruq is out past curfew and technically Zuko, you are breaking and entering.” 

A part of Katara was amazed that the Headmaster knew her name, but the other half of her was freaking out because she was probably about to be expelled.

“Please Headmaster, do not punish Katara.” Zuko bowed his head low, bending at the waist. “It was my fault. I encouraged her to sneak out and see the mirror. She didn’t know it was off limits… I’ll take whatever punishment you deem necessary.”

Her eyes grew big at the prince’s words. Zuko was trying to take the fall for her. She was touched by the gesture, but she couldn’t let him take all the blame, neither her conscious or pride would allow it. 

Katara opened her mouth, prepared to deny the prince’s story, but Roku silence her with a wave of his old wrinkled hand. The Headmaster turned back to the bowed boy with soft eyes. “Lift your head Zuko. You nor Miss Katara are in trouble.”

“We’re not?” both of the children stared at Roku in confusion. 

“No, I don’t think this warrants more than a warning. I was young once too.” Roku gave them a full smile. “Besides, I couldn’t give you detention on your birthday, Zuko. I’m sure there’s a rule against things like that.” 

Katara whipped around at the boy. “Today’s your… birthday?”

Zuko blushed under her gaze, pulling his bang in embarrassment. “Um, Yeah. December 25.”

Now everything made sense: the streamers, the cake, the balloons. How did she miss it?

“How could you not tell me today was your birthday?” 

Her question came out angrier than she wanted, causing the prince to frown at her. “I didn’t think it was something I  _ had _ to share, and why are you getting mad at me?”

Katara knew that he didn’t have to tell her, but isn’t that what ‘sort of friends not really’ did? Maybe her and Zuko were further from friends then she thought. Maybe it was all in her head.  

She glared at the boy. “Because- because we could’ve done birthday… stuff today!” 

Now, Zuko was glaring right back, his eyes nothing but slivers of gold.  “If you remember correctly, I had the day planned out just as I wanted, but they weren’t up to a certain person’s standards.”

Katara felt her face flush in shame. They had done mostly what she wanted to do today, with the snowball fight and the game of Pai Sho. She’d even managed to dominate his reading time. 

“Maybe,” Roku cut in on their back and forth, looking at the two in amusement. “You two should discuss birthdays and their importance on your way to the dorms. It is past curfew.”

Both of them blushed as they scurried to their feet. “Of course, Headmaster Roku!”

“Oh and one more thing.” Roku’s face grew serious as he watched them.  “Tomorrow the mirror will be moved to another area of the castle. I ask that neither of you two search for it. Do you understand?”

Both of the children nodded.

“And maybe you should wear the quilt. In case Shangren or Miss Cabbages are out on a stroll. I heard their looking for someone.” Katara blushed at the knowing look Roku gave her. 

Maybe she’d had enough nightly adventure.

\--- 

“Wait right here.”

Using her blanket for cover, Zuko was able to guide her back to her dorm without running into Shangren or Jee. It kind of amazed her how well the prince seemed to know the castle grounds. She imagined he was on more than his second after-hours adventure. 

Zuko looked at her incredulously. “You want me to stand in the middle of the hallway, like this?” He motioned where he stood exposed in the Gryffindor hallway for anyone to see him.

Ugh, she was getting sick of his ‘good points’. 

“Fine. Wear this until I get back.” She threw the quilt over his head before waking the Fat Lady and crawling through the tunnel. 

She knew exactly what she was looking for. It didn’t take her long to grab what she needed and scramble back to the hall. Zuko uncovered his head so she could see where he was seated in the dark hallway. 

Katara ran over to him, ducking under the quilt so it acted like a makeshift tent, supported by their heads. When she was sure that she was completely covered, she turned toward the prince, shoving a box in his hand. “It’s a little last minute, but happy birthday.”

“Katara.” It was a little dark under the quilt, but she could still see the stern look Zuko wore on his pale face. “You didn't have to give me a gift-”

“Of course I did, it’s your birthday after all. Now,” Katara looked at the prince earnestly. “Look at your present already. ”

Zuko did as she said and Katara watched as a confused smile graced his lips. “A box of chocolate frogs?” 

“Yeah,” She looked excitedly at the Slytherin. “It was a box of chocolate frogs that I wouldn’t give back to you on the train, when you wouldn’t accept my apology. Do you remember?” 

Zuko smiled back at her, his eyes glinting in laughter. “Of course I remember. I was getting candy for the other Kyoshi warriors. The chocolate frogs were actually Suki’s. I tried to give her some of my snacks, but I only had spicy stuff. Agni, she was so pissed I gave her candy away, that I had to buy her a new box just to keep her from storming your compartment.” 

“Oh that’s right, you don’t like sweets.” She felt kind of silly for forgetting such a detail when Iroh told her just that day. “I can get you something else-”

She tried to take the box back, but Zuko lifted it out of her reach. “What are you doing? You can’t take something back after you’ve given it away.”

Katara glared at him. “I can if it’s a bad gift.”

“It’s not a bad gift!” She paused in her efforts at the prince’s raised voice. Even Zuko blushed at the conviction in which he spoke. He looked down at the ground in embarrassment. “I promise it’s fine… It’s one of the best gifts I’ve got this year.”

“Really?” Katara ducked down to look the boy in the face. He was starting to steam out of his ears, making it a little humid under the cover, but he lifted his chin a bit so she could see the honesty on his face. “Even better than your sweater?” 

Without thinking, Katara poked him through one of the holes in his maroon sweater. He moved back from her finger, but not without releasing a little puff of laughter. 

So he was ticklish.

“That was a Christmas gift.” Zuko swatted her hand away, then pulled a disgusted face. “Uncle bought me tea for my birthday. I would take chocolate frogs any day.”

“Even if you don’t like them.”

“I like ‘em. I just can’t eat a lot in one sitting.” Zuko eyed his box for a minute before holding the box in front of her. His ears were steaming again. “Maybe we could eat them together- but only if you want to! It’s just that…  I’ll never finish the box by myself and you seem to really like them and-”

Katara laughed at the prince, pulling the box from his hands to stop his babbling. “Of course I will Zuko. You know how much I like enjoying  _ my _ favorite things on  _ your  _ birthday. I’m actually having the best your birthday so far.”

Zuko chuckled, his shoulders sagging in relief, as if he was scared she would refuse the candy. She grabbed a chocolate frog and shoved it in her mouth, then handed the box back and watched as Zuko did the same. 

They ate in silence, a companionable air wafting between them, until Zuko tentatively broke it. He wasn’t looking at her, but the chocolate wrapper in his hands as he spoke. “Thank you, I had a really good birthday. I haven’t had a day like this since before my mother…”

He paused, making a vague gesture in the small space before continuing. “She was the only one, besides Uncle, who celebrated my birthday just for me and not to get on my father’s good side or show off their wealth. After she died, I just stopped telling people.”

“But didn’t I do the same thing? I didn’t know it was your birthday, but I still made the whole day about me.” Katara looked at the prince sadly. “Are you sure I didn’t just make it worse?” 

“I think-” Zuko finally looked at her, blue eyes meeting sparkling gold, ernest and bright in the night. “I think it was good  _ because _ you were there.”

“Yeah?”

Zuko nodded. “Yeah.”

When the box was empty, she regretted not bringing the second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay to finally being friends lol!!! This chapter was basically Zutara fluff, I'm not even ashamed of it. The tooth rotting sweetness will roll over into the next couple of chapters, but I promise the angst is definitely coming (rubbing evil hands together).
> 
> I can't believe book one is almost done!Unless, my chapters get crazy long (like this one), there's only 5ish chapters left to this arch. I'm definitely hoping to be onto book two before 2020. Anyway, if everything goes as planned, the next chapter will be up next Friday (fingers crossed).
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 14: The Sorcerer's Stone
> 
> “You’ll just have to trust me on it, and maybe Zuko, too.” Suki smiled at her as she walked backwards toward the field. “Now, run off Gryffindor. If you take too long, you’ll miss the game.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it! I will be posting a new chapter every Friday, so I hope to see you all next week. If you want to chat my tumblr is Kenbunny123. Until next time!
> 
> Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Into the Wizarding World
> 
> This building looked exceptionally grimy, the bricks were caked in moss and the windows black with tar. Katara scrunched her nose at she read the sign for the “Jasmine Dragon”. Even the people on the streets seemed to avoid the the small pub, not even casting it a second glance. 
> 
> “Is that the Jasmine Dragon? This is our stop!”


End file.
